Patents - Costs, Percentages & More

20% - Percentage of U.S. patents for inventions known as utility patents granted in 2004 to individual inventors as opposed to business and government.

53% - Percentage of investors who generated sales from inventions they marketing.

57% - Percentage of investors who sold their invention for a profit.

$500 - The cost of filing a utility patent application, including filing, search and examination patent fees.

$700 - The amount you pay when the patent is issued.

$3500 - The amount you pay over the course of 11 1/2 years to maintain your patent.

$50,000 - Median sales generated from a patent.

30 - The number of months it can take for a patent to be granted after an patent application is filed.

Sources: The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Kiplinger’s Magazine Jan 2006.