Costs
Normally it costs more money to put a product on the market than to patent it, so it is worth considering financing at an early stage.
Fees
The fees for a national Swedish patent application are relatively low. You pay a filing fee that consists of a registration fee and a search fee.
If your application includes more than ten patent claims, additional fees are payable. If your application is approved, you pay a granting fee. For renewal of the patent protection, you then have to pay a gradually increasing annual fee.
Typically the fees for an average European patent (covering seven or more countries) and the fees for a Swedish national patent can differ by a factor of ten. This applies up until the patent is granted and does not include agent costs.
The total cost of patenting with a PCT application is the result of many factors. The filing fee in phase I is typically eight to ten times higher than the filing fee for a Swedish national application. Please note that this is only the initial cost for an international application. There are several stages in the PCT process that are subject to a fee and the major costs come later, mainly in the national phase.
Other expenses
Hiring a professional patent agent can be a good investment. When you apply for a patent abroad, you are often required to have an agent who is resident in the country in question. Then there are the costs for translating your application into that country's language. A patent agent usually charges an hourly rate for their services. You can find contact information for agents by doing a quick Internet search.
Financing
There are various options for getting financial support for your patent application. You can turn to innovation actors such as The Swedish Inventors' Association (SUF), ALMI Företagspartner and the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth. You should also contact various actors within company formation and entrepreneurship.
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