USPTO
The federal agency behind 365,000 patents a year: what it covers, what it costs, and how to use it before you build something you can't protect.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office is the federal agency that grants patents and registers trademarks. Copyright sits elsewhere: the U.S. Copyright Office, part of the Library of Congress, handles that. Knowing which office covers which type of protection is the first thing to get straight, because they work completely differently and protect completely different things.
The USPTO issued 365,614 patents in 2024 and processes over 700,000 applications per year across patents and trademarks. For a woman building a brand, the two most relevant things to understand are patents, which protect inventions and product designs, and trademarks, which protect brand names, logos, and trade dress. Most founders need a trademark. Not all founders need a patent. But knowing when you do, and when a competitor’s patent limits what you can make, is part of running any product business.
What USPTO Covers (and What It Doesn’t)
Patents
A patent grants the inventor exclusive rights to make, use, and sell an invention for a limited period: 20 years for utility and plant patents, 15 years for design patents. After the patent expires, anyone can use the invention freely. This is why Coca-Cola keeps its formula as a trade secret rather than patenting it. Patenting requires public disclosure. Once the 20 years run out, competitors can copy it exactly. A trade secret, kept undisclosed, can last indefinitely.
Trademarks
A trademark protects brand identifiers: names, logos, slogans, and trade dress. Unlike patents, trademarks can last indefinitely as long as you keep using the mark and file maintenance paperwork. The USPTO’s trademark database holds over 3 million active registrations. Trademark registration starts at $350 per class, and a brand selling direct-to-consumer typically needs at least two classes. The trademark page covers the full registration process, fees, and timeline.
What USPTO Doesn’t Handle
Copyright protects original creative works: writing, photography, music, and packaging design art. It’s automatic the moment you create something. You don’t need to file anything for copyright protection to exist. The U.S. Copyright Office at copyright.gov handles registrations for $45 to $65, which creates a legal record that makes infringement lawsuits dramatically easier to pursue. But the protection itself doesn’t depend on registration. This is the opposite of how patents work: a patent grants no protection until USPTO approves it. You can publish a photo and own the copyright instantly. You cannot disclose an invention and then try to patent it afterward, at least not without legal risk.
The Three Types of Patents
Utility patents
Utility patents protect how something works: the function, the process, the chemical composition. They’re the most common type, and also the slowest and most expensive. Average examination time from filing is 26 months for a clean application. If the examiner rejects it and you file a request for continued examination, the average stretches to 44 months. Over 92% of applications receive at least one rejection before being approved or abandoned. Total USPTO fees for a small entity (under 500 employees) through issuance run $1,316. Add attorney fees of $5,000 to $15,000, and a simple utility patent costs $8,000 to $15,000 out of pocket before the first maintenance payment.
Design patents
Design patents protect how something looks, not how it works. For most product brands, this is the more immediately useful protection: the shape of a bottle, the configuration of a compact, the specific silhouette of a shoe. Filing fees for a small entity run $520 through issuance, and average examination takes 21.5 months. Design patents last 15 years with no maintenance fees. If the visual identity of your physical product is part of what customers pay for, a design patent is worth understanding. Christian Louboutin’s red lacquered outsole is a trade dress registration, not a patent, but the principle is the same: the look is the asset.
Plant patents
Plant patents cover new varieties of asexually reproduced plants. Unless you’re in agricultural biotech, these don’t apply.
What a Patent Actually Costs
The short answer: more than most people expect, less than some people fear if you’re strategic about it.
For a small entity, utility patent fees through issuance are $1,316 in USPTO charges. That’s the government’s cut. Attorney fees to draft and prosecute a typical application add $5,000 to $15,000. A simple mechanical invention lands at $8,000 to $15,000 total. Complex software or biotech patents run $15,000 to $45,000. Then maintenance fees hit at 3.5, 7.5, and 11.5 years: $860, $1,616, and $3,312 for a small entity, or $5,788 over the patent’s life. Full lifetime cost including maintenance and attorneys: $15,000 to $50,000.
A provisional patent application is a separate, cheaper first step. At $130 for a small entity, it establishes your priority date and earns you 12 months of “patent pending” status. It doesn’t get examined and doesn’t become a patent on its own. You must file a non-provisional application within 12 months to convert it. But it’s a legitimate tool for locking in your filing date while you figure out whether a full patent makes sense.
If you need faster results, Track 1 prioritized examination gets to a final decision in roughly 12 months for an additional $1,806 (small entity), on top of standard filing fees.
How to Use USPTO.gov
TESS for trademark searches. The Trademark Electronic Search System lets you search existing marks before filing your own. It’s free, and running a clearance search before you name your brand or a product line is the most important thing you can do before building. The search isn’t just about identical names. A mark called “Luminara” for skincare can be blocked by “Luminary” already registered in Class 3 if the examiner finds likelihood of confusion. Search first, name second.
TEAS for trademark filing. The Trademark Electronic Application System is where you file. TEAS Plus costs $350 per class. TEAS Standard costs $450. The difference comes down to how precisely you define your goods and services at filing. Most straightforward applications use TEAS Plus.
Patent Full-Text Database for prior art. Before investing in a patent application, search for prior art: anything publicly known or used before your invention that could invalidate what you’d file. Google Patents runs on the same underlying data and is often faster to search. A professional prior art search from an attorney or search firm runs $1,500 to $4,000 and is worth it before committing to a full application.
Patent Center for patent filing. Applications go through Patent Center, USPTO’s current filing system. Files submitted in formats other than DOCX incur a $172 surcharge for small entities, which is one of several fee increases that took effect January 2025.
Real Example
Sara Blakely walked into the Georgia State library and taught herself patent law to avoid $3,000 to $5,000 in attorney fees she’d been quoted. She drafted the first version of the Spanx patent herself. Her mother, an artist, drew the prototype sketches. Blakely paid a patent attorney $750 to review and finalize the application. The resulting U.S. Patent No. 6,276,176 covered her footless control top pantyhose design. She also registered the Spanx trademark herself through the USPTO website for $150.
The total cost to protect what became a billion-dollar brand’s core product: under $1,000. Blakely didn’t skip IP protection to save money. She took it seriously and figured out how to do it efficiently.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a patent or a trademark?
Most product brand builders need a trademark first. A trademark protects your brand name, logo, and visual identity, which is what customers buy into and what competitors copy. A patent protects a specific invention. If your product formula, manufacturing process, or design is novel enough that a competitor could replicate it and you’d lose your advantage, a patent is worth exploring. If your competitive advantage is brand equity rather than invention, invest in trademark registration first.
How do I know if something is already patented?
Search Google Patents or the USPTO’s own Patent Full-Text Database. If a patent exists and is still in force, your product could infringe even if you invented it independently. Parallel invention doesn’t protect you. Patent rights go to whoever filed first. Searching before you invest in development is far cheaper than discovering a blocking patent after you’ve built something.
Can I use “patent pending” before my application is approved?
Yes, once you have a filed provisional or non-provisional application with USPTO. It means you’ve filed, not that USPTO has reviewed or approved anything. You cannot use “patent pending” without an active application. Doing so is a federal offense with fines up to $500 per instance. Once your patent is granted, you switch to “patented” or list the patent number on your product.
How long does a utility patent last?
20 years from the application filing date, provided you pay maintenance fees at the 3.5, 7.5, and 11.5 year marks. Miss a deadline and the patent expires. There’s a six-month grace period with a surcharge. Design patents last 15 years with no maintenance fees.
What’s the difference between a trademark and a patent?
A trademark protects brand identity: names, logos, slogans, trade dress. It can last indefinitely with ongoing use and maintenance. A patent protects an invention: it expires after 20 years (utility) or 15 years (design) and requires public disclosure of how the invention works. A beauty brand might trademark its name and logo while patenting a proprietary formula or applicator design. They protect different things and can be used together.
Sources
- USPTO, “Fee Schedule,” effective January 19, 2025. All current patent and trademark fees.
- USPTO, “Summary of 2025 Patent Fee Changes”. Fee increases and new categories effective January 2025.
- USPTO, “Patent Pendency Dashboard,” 2024. Average examination timelines for utility and design patents.
- Notaro Michalos, “Patent and Trademark Applications and Grants Increase in 2024,” February 2025. 2024 grant statistics and application volume.
- PatentPC, “Decoding USPTO Patent Examiner Statistics,” 2024. Rejection rates and examiner data.
- USPTO, “Prioritized Patent Examination Program”. Track 1 fees and timeline.
- National Inventors Hall of Fame, “Sara Blakely Fact Sheet,” January 2026. Patent number and application background.
- LegalZoom, “How Much Does a Patent Cost,” 2024. Attorney fee ranges for patent applications.