Protecting the ideas you love.

Every matter is a flat attorney fee, and you'll have the number in writing before I start. For patent work the fee is set by the complexity of the invention, on four levels from a simple mechanical device to a pharmaceutical, so the quote is predictable rather than a guess. USPTO filing fees are separate and billed at cost. Most of my clients qualify for the USPTO's small entity or micro entity discounts, which cut those government fees by 60 to 80 percent. I quote after our first call, once I know what you've built and what you want to do with it. I also keep a written flat-fee schedule, and I'll send it to you before we talk if you'd like to see it first.

Yes. The first consultation is free, 30 to 60 minutes by video or phone depending on what you need, and there is no obligation. If I think you shouldn't file, I'll say so on that call. If I think you should, you'll leave with a plan.

No. I'll take on any IP matter, and nothing is too small. My science background isn't a limit on what I work on. It's a skill set: 25 years of research taught me to dissect a problem methodically before deciding what to do about it, and that works the same whether the invention is a molecule, a mechanical gadget, or a brand.

Usually, yes. A patentability assessment tells us whether something close to your invention already exists before you spend money on an application, and it shapes how I write the claims. It's a flat fee, priced by the complexity of the technology, and the search fee is credited toward your application if you file within six months. Sometimes it's the best money you'll spend, because it tells you not to file. More often, it shows me exactly how to write claims that will hold up.

Yes. You can hire me for one piece of the work and stop there, whether that's a patentability assessment, a provisional, a single office action response, or a trademark filing. Some clients want one step and some want everything, and both are fine. If you decide to file later, the assessment fee counts toward the application.

A provisional application is a lower-cost placeholder. It locks in your filing date for 12 months and lets you say "patent pending," but it is never examined and never becomes a patent on its own. To get a patent, you file a non-provisional application within that year, and if I drafted the provisional, that fee is credited toward the non-provisional.

A provisional makes sense when you need time to test the market or finish development. It's a mistake when it's thin, because a thin provisional protects less than people think.

Longer than anyone likes. The USPTO's first substantive response typically arrives well over a year after filing, and most applications take two to three years from filing to grant, sometimes longer in crowded fields. Trademark registrations usually take about a year. If speed matters, the USPTO offers an expedited track for utility applications that can bring a decision in under a year, and we can talk about whether it's worth the extra fee.

Be careful. In the United States you have a one-year grace period after your own public disclosure, but most other countries have none, so a public demo, a product listing, a pitch at a trade show, or a social media post can cost you foreign rights immediately. A conversation under a signed NDA generally isn't a public disclosure, but an NDA is not ironclad, and it does nothing for a sale. Offering the invention for sale starts the one-year clock even when the buyer has signed an NDA. If you need an NDA, I can draft one. The safest order is file first, then talk, and don't sell or offer to sell before filing. If you've already disclosed or made an offer, call me soon. The clock is running.

A patent protects how something works. A trademark protects the name or logo customers use to find you. A copyright protects creative expression: the text, images, code, or designs you've made. Many small businesses need more than one, and we'll sort out which on the first call.

You can, and some people do. The USPTO accepts applications directly from inventors, and I'll tell you when that's reasonable. Where it usually goes wrong is the claims, which are the part of a patent that defines what you actually own. Narrow or sloppy claims produce a patent that is easy to design around, and you can't fix them by adding new material later. If you've already written a provisional yourself, there's a middle path: I can review it and file it for a flat fee.

For patents, trademarks, and copyrights, yes. All three are federal, so I represent inventors, creators, and businesses anywhere in the United States. For other legal work, such as contracts and licensing, I'm licensed in Indiana.

Yes. What you tell a lawyer in a consultation about your matter is confidential, whether or not you end up hiring me, and once you're a client our communications are privileged. One request: hold the technical details until we've talked, rather than putting them in an unsolicited email. I run a conflict check before taking on any matter, and the call is the right place for the specifics.

I'll tell you, and I'll tell you why. Sometimes the right answer is a different kind of protection, like a trade secret or a design patent. Sometimes it's to go sell the thing and skip the patent. Either way, you'll hear it before you spend money, not after.