Pro Bono Patent Program
Oklahoma City University School of Law has an agreement with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to help financially under-resourced inventors apply for patents by arranging free patent attorney and/or patent agent time and entrepreneurial support, including commercialization guidance. OCU Law’s program serves solo inventors, nonprofit organizations, and small businesses based in Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, Nebraska or Oklahoma.
Eligibility Requirements
Solo Inventors
- Total household income must be less than three times the federal poverty level.
- Must not be obligated to assign rights to the invention
Nonprofits With 501(c)(3) Status From the IRS
- Must have four or fewer inventors who are obligated to assign rights to the nonprofit
- Budget less than $1 million per year
- Not open to research institutions or institutions of higher learning
- Not obligated to assign rights to another entity
Small Businesses
- Must have four or fewer inventors who are obligated to assign rights to the business
- All inventors’ household incomes must be less than three times federal poverty level
- Total gross income of less than $150,000 in preceding calendar year, and expected to remain less than $150,000 in current calendar year
- Not obligated to assign rights to another entity
All Applicants
- Must not have filed four or more patent applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
- Must demonstrate patent system knowledge by either having a provisional application already on file with the Patent and Trademark Office or completing an online course (Spanish version) and submitting a certificate of training.
Guidelines
- False or misleading information given in an application may result in delays in, or denial/termination of, referral assistance.
- Notification is required if the information on this form materially changes, for example if contact information changes or annual household income materially increases.
- Do not provide any confidential information to OCU Law – only provide confidential information to a registered patent attorney or agent who agrees to represent you.
- OCU Law may deny anyone’s application, for any reason, in its sole discretion.
- Patent matters can be very time sensitive. OCU Law does not guarantee that a suitable volunteer patent professional will be found, nor do they guarantee that one will be found within a reasonable amount of time. You must independently seek counsel for any time-sensitive matter, or any other matter for which you are uncomfortable using OCU Law’s referral system.
- If your application is accepted and you are referred to a patent professional, the representation will in most cases be limited to a specific case and a specific amount of time or phase of patent prosecution.
USPTO Fees
The Clinic does not charge for its services, but inventors are subject to fees owed to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (which may be reduced up to 75% for “micro-entities” qualifying under this program).
Provisional Application Fees
| CODE SECTION | DESCRIPTION | REGULAR COST | MICRO-ENTITY COST |
| 1.16(d) | Provisional Application Fee | $280 | $70 |
| 1.17(i)(1) | Processing Fee to Convert Provision to Non-Provisional | $140 | $35 |
| 1.16(s) | Provisional Application Size Fee – for each additional 50 sheets that exceeds 100 sheets | $400 | $100 |
| 1.17(m) | Petition for revival of an abandoned application for a patent | $400 | $100 |
Design Application Fees
| CODE SECTION | DESCRIPTION | REGULAR COST | MICRO-ENTITY COST |
| 1.16(b) | Regular Application: Design | $200 | $50 |
| 1.16(l) | Search Fees: Design | $160 | $40 |
| 1.16(p) | Design Patent Examination | $600 | $160 |
| 1.18(b)(1) | Design Issue Fee | $700 | $175 |
Utility Application Fees
| CODE SECTION | DESCRIPTION | REGULAR COST | MICRO-ENTITY COST |
| 1.16(a) | Regular Application: Utility | $300 | $75 |
| 1.16(k) | Search Fees: Utility | $660 | $165 |
| 1.16(o) | Utility Patent Examination | $760 | $190 |
| 1.18(a)(1) | Utility Issue Fee | $1,000 | $250 |
| 1.16(f) | Surcharge – Late filing fee | $160 | $40 |
| 1.16(h) | Independent Claims, in excess of three (3) | $460 | $115 |
| 1.16(i) | Claims in excess of 20 | $100 | $25 |
| 1.16(J) | Multiple Dependent Claim | $820 | $205 |
| 1.16(s) | Utility Application Size Fee – for each additional 50 sheets that exceeds 100 sheets | $400 | $100 |
| 1.16(t) | Non-Electronic Utility Filing Fee | $400 | $200 |
| 1.17(i)(1) | Non-English Translation | $140 | $35 |
Pre-Application Checklist
Pre-Application Checklist
Before starting your application, please make sure you:
- Have read and completed all of the previous steps.
- Have the name and e-mail address of each inventor.
- Collect financial information about each inventor and (if applicable) your business or nonprofit.
- Collect basic information about your invention.
- Have information on previous patents/applications filed by each inventor. (if applicable)
Once you are ready to submit an application, please complete Inventor Application.
What happens next?
Once you complete an application form, our staff will review your answers and contact you within a reasonable period of time. If you qualify for our program, we will send follow-up questions. Once you have answered the questions to our satisfaction, we will schedule an intake appointment for you. This appointment must attended in person.
If you do not qualify for our program, we will inform you of the reason and send you resources on filing pro se or acquiring assistance.
What is a reasonable period of time?
We attempt to contact applicants within 1 week. However, there are several periods of time during which you should expect application reviews to take longer:
- Mid December to Mid January
- Mid March
- Late April to Late May
- Mid July to Late August
During these periods, our office is normally undergoing significant staffing changes, coinciding with the end of the law school semesters, has significant events for fundraising, or is closed for the holidays. We ask that you exercise patience if you apply directly before or during any of these periods.