{"id":367,"date":"2020-01-23T08:36:19","date_gmt":"2020-01-23T08:36:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thompsonpatentlaw.com\/?p=367"},"modified":"2022-04-23T07:26:44","modified_gmt":"2022-04-23T07:26:44","slug":"hiring-a-patent-lawyer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thompsonpatentlaw.com\/hiring-a-patent-lawyer\/","title":{"rendered":"“How Much Do You Charge” Is The Wrong Question To Ask When Hiring A Patent Lawyer"},"content":{"rendered":"

When seeking a patent for your invention, the attorney you hire to represent you matters. Asking the right questions when hiring a patent lawyer can make all the difference.<\/p>\n

A lot of inventors make the mistake of shopping for a patent attorney based on their \u201cupfront price.\u201d<\/p>\n

I get that\u2014when an entrepreneur is in the early stages of their invention, finances can be tight. What goes overlooked, however, is that by simply choosing an attorney based on price and not experience, you are opening yourself up to the very real possibility of doubling, tripling, even quadrupling your expenses down the road.<\/p>\n

Worse, you could wind up with a worthless patent for all that you\u2019ve invested!<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because having an attorney help you put together a patent application is only a fraction of the battle. It\u2019s the subsequent months and years that you\u2019ll spend dealing with the Patent Office that has the potential to steal your sanity and drain your bank account.<\/p>\n

Every time the Patent Office rejects your claims in an Office Action, your attorney gets richer and your patent gets weaker. And, the longer it takes to get a patent through the patent office, the farther your monetization potential falls.<\/p>\n

Think about this: the average time that inventors spend in this \u201ccycle\u201d with the Patent Office is around 3 (!) years. Each time that you have to defend your claim, you are cutting another check to your lawyer to represent you.<\/p>\n

And, your patent is losing value each time because your responses to office actions are public record, which arms your competition with the ability to figure out what you are doing and\/or design around your patent altogether.<\/p>\n

On the flip side, had you hired an attorney that was skilled in creating a Litigation Quality Patent from the start, you would be better positioned to avoid these possibilities.<\/p>\n

Before you ever apply for a patent, your attorney would be proactively working through and brutally scrutinizing the \u201ckinks\u201d in your invention, similar to the way the Patent Office would, to avoid denials and delays later.<\/p>\n

Doing so helps you get through the patent approval process faster, for less money, and with less of the details of your invention being forced into the public record!<\/p>\n

When hiring a patent lawyer, don\u2019t be afraid to ask him or her tough questions beyond \u201chow much does a patent cost\u201d to avoid some of the issues I just mentioned. Here are some ideas of what to ask:<\/p>\n