John, an independent inventor, came up with a promising idea in AI-powered logistics. Curious to see if anyone has come up with a similar idea, he did what most people do: he Googled it.

A few tech blogs, a research paper or two, but nothing that looked like his exact concept. Encouraged, he figured the idea might just be novel. He wanted to file a provisional patent application to safeguard his idea and claim priority. 

But he was aware he would need a patentability search. This being his first patent application, he looked up the cost of a patentability search. He found it could cost him anywhere between $1,000 to $3,000, depending on complexity of his invention.

On platforms like Upwork, similar searches cost between $200 and $800, though the scope and reliability varied widely. And with full patent filing costs looming, every dollar mattered.

The Cost of Filing a Patent in The US

Filing a patent isn’t a one-time step. It’s a layered process involving multiple fees, each tied to a specific stage in the application journey. While many first-time inventors assume it’s just about paying a filing fee and moving on, the real picture is more complex and expensive.

Let’s walk through what John would pay if he chose to file a utility patent in the US.

It starts with a provisional patent application, which gives you a 12-month window to claim an early filing date. That alone costs $325. It’s not examined, but it does lock in your priority.

Once John files his non-provisional patent, he’ll encounter:

• A basic filing fee of $350
• A search fee of $770
• An examination fee of $880
• And, if approved, a patent issue fee of $1,290.

If the USPTO issues an objection or requests clarification, a first-month extension will cost $235. Should John need to file a Request for Continued Examination (RCE), that adds another $1,500.

In total, John could end up spending over $5,300 in just government fees. And that’s assuming everything goes smoothly.

Now, if John qualifies as a small entity (which includes most individual inventors and startups with fewer than 500 employees), the USPTO reduces many fees by 50 percent. That could lower his cost from over $5,300 to roughly $2,650. It’s a significant discount,  but it’s still money he won’t recover if the patent is rejected.

That’s why the smartest first step isn’t filing; it’s validating. Before sinking thousands into forms and filings, John needs to know whether his idea is truly patentable.

Next, we’ll explore how inventors like him can do that on their own terms, and on their own budget.

How to Run a Patentability Search Yourself?

You always have the option of hiring a patent attorney or search firm (or a freelancer, too) to run a professional search and give you a formal opinion. It’s a good route for mission-critical inventions, but it comes at a cost. 

As we’ve seen, a formal patentability search often takes five to seven days, and for more complex inventions, even longer. The fees can run into the thousands.

But what if you want to make an early judgment call, and ask yourself, Is this idea really worth the investment of time and money –  before involving legal help?

That’s where a do-it-yourself patentability search comes in.

Historically, DIY wasn’t easy. You could search through:

• Google Patents, which is free and decent for keyword-based searching, but often misses older or foreign documents.
• The USPTO database provides official data but lacks advanced filtering and semantic relevance.
• Espacenet, which is broad in coverage, but complex to navigate, and doesn’t always include U.S. pre-grant applications.
• Or commercial tools like Derwent Innovation or Orbit, which are powerful but cost thousands of dollars annually and require you to know how to construct Boolean or CPC-based queries.

Even with time and effort, many of these tools don’t include non-patent literature, which is critical because a research paper, blog post, or technical manual could still count as prior art.

In short, most traditional search tools were never designed with inventors in mind.

Thankfully, that’s changing. Today, AI-powered patent search tools make it possible for anyone to run a prior art search using plain English. You can type in your idea and receive results that are semantically relevant, even if the original patents don’t use your exact phrasing.

In the next section, we will look at what these AI tools can do and how they’re helping inventors make smarter, faster decisions.

What AI Tools Can Do to Empower Your Patentability Search?

Traditional search tools weren’t built for inventors. They expected you to think and search like a patent examiner using Boolean operators, CPC codes, and keyword filters. That’s a big ask for someone still shaping their idea.

AI has changed that.

With today’s AI-powered patent search tools, you don’t need to master technical language or query syntax. You can simply describe your invention in plain English, and really good tools will surface semantically relevant prior art. This would include expired patents, global patents, and even non-patent literature like academic papers.

Moreover, you get results in seconds. This means faster iterations, smarter pivots and clear direction that can help you fine-tune your inventions further. 

These platforms empower you to validate the novelty of your idea before investing any money in formal opinions. 

In the next section, we will look at how PQAI, can help inventors like John run deeper, faster, and more effective patentability searches. 

How PQAI Helps Inventors Like John Run a Patentability Search Without Legal Help?

Most inventors don’t need legal opinions on day one; they need clarity. That’s exactly what PQAI (Patent Quality Artificial Intelligence) was built to deliver.

Founded by former AT&T executive and IP Veteran Sam Zellner, PQAI is a free, open-source initiative designed to bring AI-powered patent search capabilities to the fingertips of individual inventors, startup founders, and innovators worldwide.

The mission is to help you validate ideas before investing time, money, or legal hours. And it does that by replacing arcane syntax with a simple prompt: “What’s your idea?”

Using PQAI is simple. Here’s how John could use PQAI to test his concept in AI-powered logistics:

Describe the idea in plain English: He can write the idea naturally, like explaining it to a colleague. He could write something like: “A system that uses AI to predict delivery delays and dynamically reroute goods in a supply chain.”

Source – PQAI

Submit the query: John might or might not add priority dates. PQAI scans over 11 million patents over major patent offices and 11.5 million research papers to find semantically similar prior art.

Review the mapped results: PQAI returns the top semantically relevant results. Each result is mapped to specific portions of his query, including non patent literature and patents. 

For instance, for the above query, here is a snapshot of the results page: 

Explore and refine: If something looks close, John can click “More like this” or apply filters by document type or date. If nothing looks close, he can adjust his query and try again.

With just a few iterations, inventors like John can get a grounded sense of whether or not their idea is worth the next step. He gains insight into whether his idea is novel, close, or already covered. All without spending a dime.

Final Thoughts: Validate Before You File

Let’s be clear. AI tools like PQAI are not substitutes for formal legal opinions. 

If you decide to move forward with a patent, you’ll still need a registered attorney to draft and file your patent application. You will also need them to guide you through potential office actions or rejections.

But tools like PQAI can help you decide whether it’s even worth going that far.

By surfacing relevant prior art in minutes, without jargon, paywalls, or gatekeepers, AI-powered search gives you the early insight you need to make smarter decisions. You save time, reduce wasted effort, and avoid the expense of pursuing ideas that may already be claimed.

And because ideas are fragile, especially in their earliest stages, it’s critical that your search tool respects that. PQAI respects user privacy and lets you search completely anonymously. Your searches are not saved unless you explicitly ask them to be saved. Your idea remains yours, even after you test its novelty.

So, before you spend thousands filing a patent, do what John did. Run a patentability search yourself with PQAI and make your first step an informed one.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is a Google search enough to check if my idea is already patented?

Not quite. Google searches can miss expired patents, foreign filings, and technical documents that still count as prior art. Plus, patents rarely use everyday language. A more structured search, ideally using AI-powered patent search tools, is far more reliable for testing novelty.

2. Can I patent an idea that improves on an existing product?

Yes, if the improvement is novel and non-obvious. Many patents are granted for enhancements to known inventions. But the key is proving how your version solves a problem differently, or better, than what’s already out there.

3. What is the risk of running a free patent search tool that stores my data?

If a tool logs or shares your query, you risk unintentionally exposing your idea, especially if it’s not yet protected. That’s why privacy matters. Tools like PQAI let you search completely anonymously, without saving your data or requiring a login.

4. If I find something similar, should I give up on the idea entirely?

Not necessarily. Close prior art can help refine your invention. You might focus on a different use case, technical method, or user experience. Often, it’s not about scrapping the idea, but about pivoting it strategically. This article can help you leverage existing prior art to fine tune your idea/invention.