What Happens After You Reach Out
You will hear back within one business day, usually the same day. The consultation is free and carries no obligation.
We will talk through your device, what stage it is at, and what you are trying to accomplish. You will get a high-level read on patentability, a recommended filing strategy, and a fee estimate. If the right move is to wait until the prototype settles down, we will tell you that rather than sell you a filing you do not need yet.
Every engagement is quoted as a fixed fee before work begins, so you know what a provisional, a non-provisional, or a design patent costs before you commit.
What to Have Ready
Helpful, but not required. A conversation without any of it is still worth having.
A description of the device and the clinical problem it solves. Drawings, sketches, CAD files, or photographs of a prototype. Whether you have shown it at a trade show, published on it, pitched investors outside an NDA, or sold any units, because public disclosure and sales start deadlines that can forfeit your rights permanently. Any similar devices you are aware of. And where you are in the regulatory pathway, if you have started thinking about it.
Timing Matters More Than Most Inventors Expect
Medical device development runs long, and the instinct is to wait until the design is final before filing. That instinct is usually wrong. The United States awards patents to the first inventor to file, and a public disclosure or an offer for sale starts a one year clock after which your own activity becomes prior art against you.
Trade shows, published abstracts, clinical trial registrations, investor presentations without a signed NDA, and early sales can all count. A provisional application filed before those events is inexpensive relative to what it protects, and it buys twelve months to keep developing while you hold a priority date.
Confidentiality
What you tell us is confidential from the first conversation, whether or not you hire us. You do not need a signed non-disclosure agreement before describing your device.
Who We Work With
Physicians and surgeons who have designed a better instrument. Engineers at device companies. Startups raising a seed or Series A round. Research institutions and university spinouts. Established manufacturers building out a portfolio. And inventors outside the United States who need U.S. patent counsel to file here.
The practice is led by John Behles, a mechanical engineer, registered U.S. patent attorney, and medical device inventor who has taken his own devices from concept to prototype to patent to license.
Not Ready to Talk Yet?
Download the free Medical Device Inventor's Patent Guide, which covers what to protect, when to file, and what it actually costs. Or read our guides on how to patent a medical device, medical device patent costs, and provisional applications for device inventors.