Step One
Introductory call
We discuss the product, the technology, and the competitive landscape: what's worth protecting, what might be better kept as a trade secret, and whether patenting is the right approach at all.
Patents built to withstand scrutiny
—without slowing down the company
Patent work for startups and technical companies, at fixed and transparent fees. The goal isn't just a quick filing—it's protection that holds up in court.
For Companies Building Real Technology
Searchlight is built for companies whose value depends on the technology they're building: software infrastructure, AI systems, developer tools, robotics, hardware, semiconductors, energy technology, medical technology, and other products where the technical details matter.
If the invention is important enough to protect, the patent work should be serious enough to survive scrutiny.
The Process
Step Two
Confidential technical intake
After an engagement is in place, we go deeper. That can start with product notes, architecture diagrams, demos, founder walkthroughs, or technical documentation. Source code can be helpful, but isn't required.
Step Three
Patentability and prior-art review
Searchlight stress-tests the invention against existing patents, publications, and technical materials before committing drafting effort.
Step Four
Claim strategy
We decide what the application should try to protect and how the claims should be structured.
Step Five
Draft, file, and prosecute
Searchlight prepares the application and moves it through the Patent Office as the matter develops.
Lawyers call this patent prosecution. In plain English, it's the work of turning real technical progress into patent rights that may actually matter.
Fee Schedule
Fixed fees, set at the start—no hourly billing, no open-ended scope.
Provisional application A fast, supportive filing that locks in your priority date—credited in full toward your non-provisional or PCT. | $2,000 |
Non-provisional or PCT application A full utility application, drafted to withstand scrutiny—filed in the US, or as a PCT to keep 150+ countries open. Includes the first US office-action response. | $8,000 |
Additional office-action response Each response after the first, as prosecution continues—you decide when to keep pushing. | $1,500 |
These are Searchlight's fees only. Government filing fees and formal drawings aren't included; they're billed at cost—see the current USPTO fee schedule. National-phase entries, appeals, requests for continued examination, and continuation filings are quoted as they arise—pursuing broader coverage is always your call. Patent protection in other countries is handled with trusted local counsel, whose fees—like government fees—are billed at cost.
If you're considering patent protection—
Schedule a free introductory consultation, or send a short non-confidential description of what you're building and what you may want to protect.
Correspondence