Pricing
Pricing & Fee Information
HPC uses standard pricing to make professional fees more predictable while still accounting for materially different scope, complexity, urgency, technology, or other circumstances before a matter is accepted.
Key Term
What “Standard professional fee” means
Standard professional fee
A standard professional fee is the ordinary listed fee for a matter that falls within HPC’s standard scope and complexity assumptions. It is not a guaranteed fee for every matter with the same service label.
Before HPC proposes written matter-specific terms (“Matter Terms”), HPC reviews enough information to understand the work and may quote a different professional fee when scope, complexity, urgency, technology, instructions, or other circumstances materially affect what will be required.
Once Matter Terms are accepted, the agreed professional fee covers the agreed scope even if performing that scope requires more work than HPC anticipated. The fee does not change merely because HPC underestimated the work required within that scope. A different fee would be discussed only if the client later requests or approves work that materially changes or expands the agreed scope.
How Pricing Works
Predictable pricing without treating unlike matters as identical
Before engagement
- HPC reviews the proposed matter and the requested service.
- Standard prices are applied when the matter fits the applicable assumptions.
- Material differences in scope or complexity are reflected in the fee proposed in the Matter Terms.
- The client knows the proposed professional fee before accepting the matter-specific terms.
After engagement
- The agreed professional fee covers the agreed scope.
- HPC does not convert an ordinary fixed-fee matter into hourly billing merely because it took longer than expected.
- If the client later requests or approves work that materially changes or expands the agreed scope, the change is addressed before that additional or different work begins.
Utility Applications
Standard scope assumptions
The standard professional fees shown for utility-application work assume an ordinary matter within the following scope and complexity parameters.
Typical scope assumptions
- Approximately 20 pages of specification, excluding claims, abstract, and drawings
- Up to 20 total claims, including up to 3 independent claims
- Up to 5 figures prepared by HPC
- Two substantive revision rounds after the initial substantive draft
- Ordinary technical complexity and scope
- English-language source materials
Included and additional items
An ordinary Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) based on references identified through HPC's included search is generally included in the application work.
Additional figures or other work materially beyond the standard assumptions may affect the matter-specific fee quoted before engagement.
USPTO/WIPO fees, professional illustrators, translations, sequence-listing assistance, specialized outside services, and similar costs are additional unless expressly included.
Application Work
Cumulative pricing and credit for reusable work
For certain utility-application services, related stages build on one another. When an applicable earlier HPC component has already been completed and its professional fee has been earned and paid, that component ordinarily is not charged again when the corresponding work materially carries forward.
Example
Example: a client begins with a $1,000 prior-art search. If the client then proceeds to a provisional application, the cumulative professional fee becomes $3,000, so only an additional $2,000 is due. If the same invention later proceeds to a U.S. nonprovisional application, the cumulative professional fee becomes $5,000, so only another $2,000 is due. The client does not pay $1,000 + $3,000 + $5,000; HPC credits the applicable work already completed as the invention progresses.
Government Fees & Expenses
Professional fees are separate from government fees and outside expenses
Government fees
USPTO, WIPO, and other government fees are separate from HPC’s professional fees unless expressly stated otherwise in the Matter Terms. The applicable payment arrangement is identified for the matter before HPC is expected to make a government-fee payment.
Outside expenses
Professional illustrators, translations, sequence-listing assistance, specialized outside services, and similar expenses are additional when applicable unless expressly included in the Matter Terms. Outside expenses that can reasonably be identified in advance are addressed during the matter-opening process.
Need a matter-specific price?
Start with the free 30-minute consultation. HPC will identify the appropriate service and determine what information is needed before proposing matter-specific terms and pricing.