Lightbringer pricing explained: the plans, what they cover, and what you pay on top
Lightbringer publishes its prices. Starter is free. Pro is €2,000 / $2,400 / £2,000 / 20,000 SEK per quarter and includes one patent draft a year, a novelty assessment, registered trade secrets, management of up to five applications and Lightbringer as attorney of record. Growth is custom for larger portfolios. Official patent office fees are separate.
- Published price: Starter free; Pro €2,000 / $2,400 / £2,000 / 20,000 SEK per quarter with one patent draft a year and attorney of record; Growth (larger portfolios) on request; official fees separate (Lightbringer pricing)
- The hourly alternative: traditional firms bill $350 to $900 per hour depending on seniority, with a typical US utility patent at $10,000 to $25,000 in attorney fees for drafting alone, before office actions (Tradespace, 2026)
- Why predictability matters: most applications receive at least one office action and USPTO examination typically takes 2 to 3 years, so hourly costs compound over the prosecution period (USPTO pendency data)
- Client preference: around 71% of legal clients say they prefer fixed fees over hourly billing (LeanLaw)
- Official fee discounts: small entities receive 60% and micro entities 80% off most USPTO fees under the Unleashing American Innovators Act of 2022 (USPTO)
How Lightbringer pricing works
Lightbringer is the AI-native patent service for tech companies: patents drafted with purpose-built AI, reviewed and filed by Lightbringer's own patent attorneys, on a fixed quarterly plan.
There are three plans. Starter is free: invention capture, patentability checks and an IP landscape search cost nothing, so you can see where your IP stands before committing money. Pro is €2,000 / $2,400 / £2,000 / 20,000 SEK per quarter and is the plan for teams with a growing portfolio and no in-house counsel. Growth, for companies with larger portfolios, several products or multiple markets, is priced on request. Official fees charged by patent offices are always separate.
What Pro includes
- One patent draft a year: the application produced with Lightbringer's purpose-built AI from your invention disclosure, reviewed and signed by a registered patent attorney
- Novelty assessment: a search and attorney view of what is new before you file
- Registered trade secrets: record what you choose not to patent
- Management of up to five applications: every application, deadline and status in one place, with families added as you grow
- Attorney of record: Lightbringer is your representative of record on what it files, and takes legal responsibility for it
What is not included
Official fees, the amounts patent offices themselves charge for filing, search, examination and grant, are paid separately in every pricing model, Lightbringer's included. In the US these are tiered: most startups qualify as small entities (a 60% discount on most USPTO fees) or micro entities (80%), under the Unleashing American Innovators Act of 2022. Lightbringer handles the entity certifications as part of the service. European and other national offices charge their own official fees, which vary by route and country.
Examiner interviews, appeals and oppositions are quoted hourly and never bundled into the plan. Everything else in the plan is fixed.
Fixed quarterly price vs hourly: the real comparison
A traditional firm bills $350 to $900 per hour depending on seniority, and a US utility patent typically lands at $10,000 to $25,000 in attorney fees for drafting alone, before office actions. The final cost is only known after the work is done.
A fixed quarterly plan inverts that: the price is known in advance, and the same fee covers the draft, the portfolio management and the attorney relationship for the whole year. Around 71% of legal clients now say they prefer fixed fees over hourly billing.
When comparing providers, ask one question and get it in writing: what is my all-in cost for the year, and what is quoted separately?
Why the price is quarterly
Patent work does not end at filing. A quarterly subscription means you keep the same attorney team, the same portfolio view and the same budget line across the years an application spends in examination, rather than paying a one-off drafting fee that leaves everything after filing unpriced.
Who uses it
More than 200 deep tech companies across the US and EU use Lightbringer, and the service holds a 4.8 out of 5 rating on G2. Filings run through Lightbringer's own European and UK attorneys at the EPO and UKIPO, a USPTO-registered practitioner on the team for US filings, PCT for international coverage, and a network of local attorneys for other national offices.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. The Starter plan is free with no time limit: invention capture, patentability checks, IP landscape search and the AI assistant connector cost nothing. Pro is €2,000 / $2,400 / £2,000 / 20,000 SEK per quarter and includes one patent draft a year, with official fees separate.
No. Office action responses and examiner correspondence are inside the flat fee, through to a decision on grant. Most applications receive at least one office action, which is exactly why they are included rather than billed per response.
The fee covers the whole journey of one application: strategy, drafting, attorney review, filing, and every step of examination until the patent office decides whether to grant. There is no separate charge when prosecution takes longer or an examiner pushes back.
No hourly rates, no surprise invoices. The only costs on top of the flat fee are official fees, which patent offices charge in every pricing model.
They vary by office and entity size. In the US, most startups qualify for a 60% (small entity) or 80% (micro entity) discount on most USPTO fees, and Lightbringer files the certifications for you. European and other national offices set their own fees by route.
The plan for companies with larger portfolios, several products or multiple markets, priced on request, with the same attorney model across the portfolio. Below that, the Pro plan's published quarterly price applies.
Traditional firms bill $350 to $900 per hour depending on seniority, with a typical US utility patent at $10,000 to $25,000 in attorney fees before office actions. Lightbringer's Pro plan is a fixed €2,000 / $2,400 / £2,000 / 20,000 SEK per quarter, known in advance, and includes one patent draft a year and Lightbringer as your attorney of record. Examiner interviews, appeals and oppositions are quoted hourly.
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