Types of patent, and which one a software startup needs
Utility, design, plant, provisional, continuation, PCT. What each is for.
Utility patent
The one that matters for software and AI: it covers how something works. 20 years from filing. This is what our plans deliver.
Design patent
Covers how something looks, not how it works. 15 years. Useful for hardware and distinctive interfaces; an easy add on.
Provisional application
Not a patent type but a filing type: a dated placeholder that gives 12 months of priority and lets you say patent pending. Cheap, fast, unexamined.
Continuation
A new application that inherits the parent’s filing date and pursues different claims on the same disclosure. How portfolios grow around a core invention. $9,500 fixed with us.
PCT (international)
A single application that preserves your right to file in 150+ countries for 30 months. Then you choose the national phases. $4,500 service fee plus $1,000 per country, official fees at cost.
Plant patent
For new plant varieties. Not us.