The United States of America is one of the biggest hubs of innovation in the world. Below, you’ll find a quick guide on filing procedures, routes, and fees for Patent Filing in USA.
Patent Filing in USA – The Routes
If you wish to file a patent in USA, you can use one of the following routes:
1. Filing with the United States Patents and Trademarks Office (USPTO)
- This route allows you to file a patent application with the United States Patents and Trademarks Office (USPTO).
- If granted, the patent shall be valid in the United States only.
2. International Filing via Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
- You can use the PCT route to file a single international application simultaneously in many countries.
- PCT has 152 Contracting States and is administered by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).
- However, the granting of a patent in the US remains under the control of the USPTO, i.e “national phase”.
3. International Filing via Paris Convention
- The Paris Convention is similar to PCT. Hence, it allows for simultaneous multi-country filing.
- Paris Convention has 177 Contracting States and is also administered by WIPO.
- However, the granting of a patent in the US remains under the control of the USPTO.
- The Paris convention offers a relatively faster route as compared to the PCT and it is more economical.
Patent Filing in USA: Requirements
The complete set of documents must include the following information:
- Utility Patent Application Transmittal Form or Transmittal Letter
- Background of the invention (for disclosure of material to patentability)
- A description and a claim or claims
- Drawings, nucleotide, and amino acid sequence listing, large tables or computer listings when necessary
- An oath or declaration
- The prescribed filing, search, and examination fees
Patent Filing in USA: Options
You can file your application offline with the USPTO or use the e-filing system.
Offline Filing
You can mail your application at the following address:
Commissioner for Patents
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, VA 22313-1450
E-filing
Whatever patent application you have to file, use EFS-Web. It is the USPTO’s electronic filing system for patent applications. It is also used for any official correspondence with the USPTO via the Internet.
Patent Fees: Overview
| Type of Fees | Standard Fee | Small Entity Fee | Micro Entity Fee |
| Basic filing fee – Utility (paper filing also requires non-electronic filing fee under 1.16(t)) | $300.00 | $150.00 | $75.00 |
| Basic filing fee – Utility (electronic filing for small entities) | n/a | $75.00 | n/a |
| Provisional application filing fee | $280.00 | $140.00 | $70.00 |
| Non-electronic filing fee — Utility (additional fee for applications filed in paper) | $400.00 | $200.00 | $200.00 |
To know more, visit the USPTO Fee Schedule.