How much does a patent maintenance fee cost?

Less than $10,000.  Cost of maintenance fees over a patent's 20-year life span.  “Total maintenance fees over a patent's 20-year life span are less than $10,000. Even with the increased fees, the U.S. patent system still provides excellent value, regularly validating patent rights worth tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars. While the increased fees sting, saving a few thousand dollars in fees is not adequate reason to forgo a well-crafted claim web.”  Patent maintenance fees. Patent renewal fees. Patent maintenance costs. (Edmund J. Walsh and Michael T. Siekman, Wolf Greenfield & Sacks, “A web of protection: Coping with the new patent fee structure,” Mass High Tech: The Journal of New England Technology, April 1, 2005)

$3,500.  Cost of maintenance fees to keep a patent in force over its lifetime.  “The U.S. patent office has set fees. For small entities - those with fewer than 500 employees - the costs include a $150 filing fee, a $250 search fee and a $180 examination fee, plus $700 if a patent is awarded. The patent office also charges $500 to $1,000 for appeals, as well as maintenance fees of $3,500 to keep a patent in force over its lifetime.” Cost of maintaining a patent.  Patent maintenance fees. Patent renewal fees. (Cyndia Zwahlen, “Long Road to a Patent Can Pay Off in Profits,” Los Angeles Times, April 19, 2006)

$3,000.  Cost of maintenance fees over the life of a patent.  “It usually costs $5,000 to $10,000 to register a patent, Grant said. The process involves a patent attorney, who can translate your product or process into legal language and make sure you get the broadest patent protection possible. Then you pay $3,000 in maintenance fees during the life of the patent, [Stephen Grant, a patent attorney at the Akron law firm of Oldham, Oldham & Wilson] said.” (Mary Vanac, Beacon, Journal Business Writer, “Copyright Easier To Get Than Patent,” Akron Beacon Journal, Akron, Ohio, May 15, 1995, p. D8)

$200.  Cost of filing and maintaining a patent in 1981.  “They've come for the monthly meeting of the Inventors Council of Dayton, part support group, part classroom for local independent inventors. They're here to share information they've gathered on new ways to promote their inventions, to bemoan the rising cost of filing for and maintaining a patent -- approximately $4,000, up from $200 in 1981 -- and to boast about the products they're sure are going to change the world.” (Heather Martin, “Independent inventors face long, costly fight,” Dayton Business Journal, January 31, 2003)