Patent basics. Utility, design, and plant patents.
Patents are federal IP protection for inventions. Three types: utility patents (functional inventions, 20-year term), design patents (ornamental designs, 15-year term), and plant patents (asexually reproduced plant varieties, 20-year term). The USPTO examines and grants patents. Patentable inventions must be: novel (new), non-obvious, useful, and patentable subject matter (no abstract ideas, natural phenomena, laws of nature).
Start here.
Utility (functional, 20 years), Design (ornamental, 15 years), Plant (asexually reproduced plants, 20 years).
United States Patent and Trademark Office grants US patents.
Novel, non-obvious, useful, patentable subject matter.
Utility patent typically 18-30 months from filing to grant. Design patents faster (12-18 months).
Utility: $10k-$30k+ including attorney fees. Design: $3k-$8k. Provisional utility: $1.5k-$4k.
The full picture.
Utility patents
Cover new and useful processes, machines, manufactures, or compositions of matter. The most common type. Examples: a new battery chemistry, a new manufacturing process, a new software algorithm (with limits post-Alice v. CLS Bank), a new pharmaceutical compound. 20-year term from filing date.
Design patents
Cover ornamental designs of functional items. Examples: the shape of a Coca-Cola bottle, the design of a chair, the appearance of a smartphone bezel. 15-year term from grant. Faster and cheaper than utility patents.
Plant patents
Cover asexually reproduced plant varieties: hybrids, mutations, cultivated sports. 20-year term. Less common; mostly used by agricultural breeders.
Patentability requirements
(1) Novelty: not previously disclosed in any publication or use anywhere in the world. (2) Non-obviousness: not an obvious variation of existing technology to a person of ordinary skill. (3) Utility: must have a useful application. (4) Patentable subject matter: not abstract ideas, natural phenomena, or laws of nature. Software and business methods face heightened scrutiny post-Alice (2014).
Provisional patent application
Filed quickly and cheaply (~$1,500 in fees). Establishes priority date but does not start examination. Must be followed by a non-provisional application within 12 months. Useful when you need a priority date but are not ready for full application costs.
Non-provisional application
The "real" application that gets examined. Includes detailed specification, drawings, claims (the legal boundaries of the patent). Filed with USPTO. Examiner reviews; office actions are issued; back-and-forth typically takes 18-30 months.
USPTO process
File application → assigned to examiner → first office action (often rejection) → respond with amendments → continued examination → eventual grant or final rejection. Appeals possible.
Cost
Utility patent total: $10,000-$30,000+ over the prosecution period, including USPTO fees and patent attorney fees. Design patent: $3,000-$8,000. Plant patent: similar to design.
Term and maintenance
Utility: 20 years from filing date. Maintenance fees due at 3.5, 7.5, and 11.5 years. Without payment, patent expires. Design: 15 years from grant. Plant: 20 years.
International protection
US patents are US-only. International protection requires foreign filings under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) or directly in each country. Costly.
Common questions.
Do I need a patent?
Can I patent software?
Can I patent a business method?
What is a provisional patent application?
Can I file without a lawyer?
How long does it take?
What does "patent pending" mean?
What about international?
IP setup, done right.
Trademark filing, copyright registration, attorney-vetted IP assignment, and connection to specialty IP attorneys for patents.
This guide is educational. Specific IP decisions require professional legal advice.
How we deliver, end-to-end.
Four-step path from request to confirmation. State and IRS turnaround varies; our steps run in parallel where possible to compress the timeline.
Intake + scope
You tell us what you need through a short intake form (or a call for complex matters). We confirm scope, surface any gating issues (deadlines, missing documents, entity status), and quote any state fees that pass through at cost.
Prepare + verify
Our specialists draft the filing, verify entity details against state databases, run internal QA, and route any items needing your sign-off. You see drafts before anything gets submitted.
File with the authority
We submit directly to the state Secretary of State, FinCEN, IRS, USPTO, or whichever authority your filing requires. We pay state fees at cost and track the submission identifier in your account.
Confirmation + vault
Stamped certificate, IRS notice, or filing receipt arrives in your SOC 2 encrypted document vault the moment we receive it. Next filing deadline auto-added to your compliance calendar where applicable.
Built on the same infrastructure used by 220,000+ businesses.
SOC 2 Type II audited
Independent annual security audit covering access control, change management, incident response, and data handling. Current report on request.
All 51 US jurisdictions
Every state plus DC plus Puerto Rico - direct filings, not third-party reseller. We hold registered-agent qualifications in every state we operate.
Deadline guarantee
If we miss a filing deadline on a service you pay us to manage, we pay the state penalty. Specific to each plan and the filings it includes.
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Independently verified by Trustpilot + Google + our own NPS infrastructure. Customer success team within reach by email, chat, or phone.
60-day money-back promise
Change your mind in the first 60 days and we refund our service fee in full. State filing fees pass through at cost and are non-refundable once paid to the state.
E&O insured
Errors and omissions coverage protects you from service errors. Carrier and certificate available on request for enterprise clients.
Recommended add-ons
Most customers add these to keep their business compliant year-round.
Trademark Monitoring
RecommendedWe watch for infringing applications and notify you within 24 hours.
Office Action Response
If the USPTO refuses, we draft a professional response.
Trademark Renewal Tracking
USPTO renewals every 5 and 10 years - we never let one lapse.
Premium compliance, no service-fee markup.
Trust you can verify
SOC 2 Type II audited platform. 220,000+ businesses served. 60-day money-back on service fees. State fees passed through at cost with no hidden markup. Explicit AUP on restricted industries.
A compliance partner, not a transaction
Most providers go quiet after checkout. We auto-track every annual report, registered agent renewal, and license deadline across your entities. The Business OS dashboard keeps your compliance score visible year-round.
Premium experience competitors cannot match
Premium positioning, transparent pricing, no service-fee markup on state or federal filings. Premium positioning, transparent pricing, no service-fee markup on state filings.