As the cost of patent protection is not low, and typically several patent applications may be made during the course of a given project, it is worth calculating and planning for these costs as early as the grant budget stage, when applying for funding.
The cost of patent protection depends primarily on the geographical area in which you wish to protect your invention. The cost of protection in Poland will be different from the cost of protection in selected European countries, and the cost of protection in the United States will be different from the cost of protection in selected European countries.
The cost of patent protection includes official patent fees. These are the easiest to plan, as they are published on the websites of the relevant patent offices, depending on the type of protection sought: Polish Patent Office (https://uprp.gov.pl/pl/przedmioty-ochrony/inne/oplaty-w-postepowaniu), European Patent Office (https://www.epo.org/en/applying/fees), US Patent and Trademark Office (https://blueironip.com/how-much-does-a-patent-cost/). In addition to the official costs, we have to take into account the costs of the services of the patent law firm preparing and filing the application on our behalf. These include, but are not limited to, the cost of conducting a patentability search, preparing the application documents, and filing the application with the Office. The fees for these services will vary depending on the law firm selected. The total cost of obtaining a patent will ultimately depend on the time taken by the Office to process the application (usually several years, with a fee required for each subsequent period of protection according to the Office’s fee schedule). Calculations should also take into account the possibility of additional costs, such as those relating to litigation concerning the invention, which the law firm may have to handle.
In general, the estimated total cost of obtaining a Polish patent ranges from PLN 10,000 to PLN 40,000, depending on the technical field, the complexity of the invention and the time required.
The cost of obtaining a European patent averages between 35,000 – 70,000 PLN. Unlike national patents, a European patent only provides the option to obtain protection in selected countries. To protect your invention, you must also carry out a process called „validation,” which confirms the validity of the European patent in individual countries. The costs of European patent validation usually range between 2,500 – 15,000 PLN per country. These costs are often the most significant burden for the applicant, mainly due to translation expenses.
The cost of obtaining a U.S. patent averages around 100,000 PLN. This includes all expenses, including handling the proceedings and periodic fees for extending the right, assuming the patent description itself is prepared by a Polish law firm, and the application is submitted with the support of a local law firm.
It is important to note that the above cost estimates cover the entire process of obtaining a patent, from the moment the patent application is prepared to the moment the patent decision is issued. The costs of merely filing a patent application are, of course, much lower and easier to plan.
We encourage all researchers planning to ensure intellectual property protection for the results of their research to contact the TTO office, which based on the current price list of the MUG patent law firm, will help you accurately estimate the necessary costs. We emphasize that the most appropriate time to do this is at the very beginning of research planning, that is, during the grant application process, when you have the greatest freedom in making financial plans.