A patent is a right granted by the government to stop others from making, using, or selling your invention. A utility patent lasts 20 years from filing; a design patent lasts 15 years from grant. And the US is first-to-file: the date you file matters more than the date you invented - which is why every day you wait is a day someone else can file first.
This page walks you through the two kinds of patents, the whole journey from filing to grant, and every government fee along the way - so you know exactly what you're buying before you spend a dollar.
The stages below follow a utility application. All fees are USPTO small-entity rates from the official fee schedule; most individual inventors qualify for these or better. Design patents follow a shorter, cheaper version of the same road - faster examination, ~$520 at filing, and no maintenance fees at all.
Your priority date is locked the day the application is filed. From this day you can mark the invention patent pending.
The office publishes your application on its standard schedule. Nothing to do, nothing to pay - your place in line is already set.
The examiner responds - most applications get at least one rejection or objection. It's a negotiation, not a verdict. You respond with arguments or claim amendments.
Claims allowed. Pay the issue fee and the patent grants a few weeks later - now you can sue infringers and mark products 'patented.'
Three payments keep a granted utility patent alive for its full 20-year term. Miss one and the patent expires.
Add it up: a typical small-entity utility patent costs about $1,300 in government fees from filing through grant, plus about $5,800 in maintenance over its life. Track One accelerated examination adds $1,806 at filing and targets a decision in ~12 months instead of 2–3 years. Review the full fee schedule on uspto.gov ↗
Both lock in your priority date the day they're filed, and both let you say patent pending. The difference is what happens next.