Your client lost the patent on a date. You are the person who held the calendar.
Patent practice runs on deadlines set by statute and treaty, and a missed one can end a client’s protection with no judge able to restore it. We place lawyers professional liability for patent attorneys, IP boutiques and solo practitioners, and help registered patent agents ask whether they are insured at all.
Tell us the situation.
One licensed human replies the same business day — not five agents, not an auto-responder. If the policy you have is already the right one, we will tell you.
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Send us what you have. We’ll tell you if it’s right.
Your current policy paperwork, a renewal notice, or nothing at all. A licensed agent reads it and replies the same business day.
What patent practice businesses actually need.
Lawyers professional liability
Claims that your patent work cost a client money, written claims-made, which means the policy in force when the claim arrives pays.
Without it — A missed response date or priority deadline is a claim worth the whole invention, and no general policy answers it.
Prior acts and extended reporting
Coverage back to a retroactive date for work done before the policy began, and a tail that keeps claims reportable after you retire or close.
Without it — Maintenance fees and patent scope disputes surface years later, so a gap when you change firms or retire strands the work behind it.
Cyber & tech E&O
Breach response, ransomware and the notification costs that follow. Technology errors and omissions sits on the same policy and covers the software or service itself failing a client, which is the half most tech companies find out about too late.
Without it — Unfiled invention disclosures are among the most sensitive files a client sends. A breach before filing can also hand a competitor the idea, so ask whether the policy reaches the client’s loss.
Crime & employee dishonesty
Theft by your own staff, funds transfer fraud, and the dishonesty bond a home care contract will ask you for by name.
Without it — Fee and annuity payments are often made on a client’s behalf, which puts client money through your account and your email, where a fake payment instruction lands.
General liability
Third-party bodily injury and property damage. It is the line nearly every contract names by default.
Without it — The office lease will ask for it, and it answers none of the claims the practice itself produces.
Employment practices liability
Wrongful termination, discrimination and harassment claims brought by your own employees. General liability specifically excludes these.
Without it — Associates, paralegals and docketing staff can bring employment claims, and a boutique with a handful of people is not exempt.
What the regulators actually wrote down.
A disclosure made one year or less before the effective filing date of a claimed invention is not prior art if the inventor or someone who got the subject matter from the inventor made it; once the year has passed the exception does not apply.
35 U.S.C. 102(b)(1) · checked 2026-11-01
A U.S. application claims priority from an earlier foreign application only if it is filed within 12 months of the foreign filing date, and the statute allows a further two months where the delay was unintentional.
35 U.S.C. 119(a) · checked 2026-11-01
An application that claims the benefit of a provisional application must be filed not later than 12 months after the provisional was filed, with the same two-month extension for unintentional delay.
35 U.S.C. 119(e)(1) · checked 2026-11-01
An application is regarded as abandoned if the applicant does not reply within six months of an Office action, or within any shorter time, not less than thirty days, that the Director sets in the action.
35 U.S.C. 133 · checked 2026-11-01
Maintenance fees on a utility patent fall due at 3 years and 6 months, 7 years and 6 months, and 11 years and 6 months after grant, with a six-month grace period; a patent whose fee is still unpaid when the grace period ends expires.
35 U.S.C. 41(b) · checked 2026-11-01
Under the Patent Cooperation Treaty an applicant must furnish a copy of the international application, any translation and the national fee to each designated Office not later than 30 months from the priority date, subject to national exceptions for some offices.
Patent Cooperation Treaty, Article 22(1), WIPO · checked 2026-11-01
In the United States the national stage of an international application commences with the expiration of the applicable time limit under PCT Article 22(1) or (2).
35 U.S.C. 371(b) · checked 2026-11-01
The U.S. Supreme Court held unanimously on February 20, 2013 that 28 U.S.C. 1338(a) does not deprive state courts of subject matter jurisdiction over a legal malpractice claim against the lawyers who handled a patent case, so those suits can be heard in state court.
Gunn v. Minton, 568 U.S. 251 (2013) · checked 2026-11-01
The USPTO registers two kinds of practitioner: a citizen who is an attorney may be registered as a patent attorney, and a citizen who is not an attorney may be registered as a patent agent.
37 CFR 11.6(a) and (b) · checked 2026-11-01
The USPTO told practitioners in April 2024 that using AI tools is not prohibited and that its existing rules still apply, that relying on the accuracy of an AI tool is not a reasonable inquiry under 37 CFR 11.18(b), and that AI use can lead to inadvertent disclosure of confidential client information.
USPTO, Guidance on Use of Artificial Intelligence-Based Tools in Practice Before the USPTO, Federal Register, April 11, 2024 (89 FR 25609) · checked 2026-11-01
The 2022 NAICS lists 541110 Offices of Lawyers and 541199 All Other Legal Services as separate industries.
U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 NAICS 2-6 digit code list · checked 2026-11-01
The claims we actually see.
Ordered by how often we see them, not by how dramatic they are. Each one names the coverage that answers it — and the policy people wrongly assume already does.
Most common
A response deadline missed and the application abandoned
Covered by Lawyers professional liability
The statute treats the application as abandoned when the reply does not come in time. Revival may be possible, and the cost of trying, and of any rights lost meanwhile, is what the client claims.
Common
A priority or national-phase deadline passes
Covered by Lawyers professional liability
The 12-month priority year and the 30-month national phase are fixed by statute and treaty. A late filing can leave an invention unprotected in the countries that mattered to the client.
Common
A maintenance fee is missed and the patent expires
Covered by Lawyers professional liability
Fees fall due at set points after grant, with a six-month grace period. Docketing a patent you prosecuted years ago is the task that falls out of the system first.
Less common, severe
A foreign associate misses a date or files the wrong claims
Covered by Lawyers professional liability, if the policy reaches work you instruct others to do
The client hired you, so the claim comes to you. Read how the policy treats errors by outside counsel you selected and instructed.
Common
A client says the claims were drafted too narrowly
Covered by Lawyers professional liability
The claim often arrives only when the patent is enforced, years later, which is why a retroactive date and a tail matter more here than in a practice with short matters.
Less common, severe
Two clients in the same technology conflict
Covered by Lawyers professional liability, with the conflict check as the underwriting question
Prosecuting competing applications for rivals in one field is routine for a boutique. A conflict claim turns on the checks you ran and the consents you got.
What the insurance company will ask about your patent practice business
We read 7 applications the markets use for this kind of business and pulled out what they actually ask. Have these answers ready and a quote takes a day instead of a week, because nobody has to come back to you for the missing piece.
About the business
- What year was your firm established?
- What is your firm's name?
- How much did your firm bill clients in the last twelve months?
- What percentage of your practice is intellectual property work, including patent prosecution, patent licensing, IP counseling, and IP opinions?
How you operate
- Do you have a system to check for conflicts of interest when you take on new clients or new matters?
- Do you have a backup attorney ready to step in if you are away for an extended time?
- Do you use engagement letters with your clients?
- Do you use disengagement letters when you part ways with clients?
- Do you use non-engagement letters when you decline to represent someone?
Safety and controls
- Are you aware of any errors, omissions, or incidents that could lead to a claim against you?
- What percentage of your accounts receivable are more than 90 days past due?
- In the past two years, have you sued any clients over fees?
Your history
- What is your current policy expiration date?
- When did you report any matter to your insurance company?
- In the past ten years, have you been denied the ability to practice, suspended, disbarred, reprimanded, sanctioned, or held in contempt?
- Have you been the subject of any disciplinary complaint?
Money and people
- Do you employ a firm administrator?
- Are all of your attorneys current on their continuing legal education requirements?
Have these ready
- Your engagement letter template
- Your disengagement letter template
- Your non-engagement letter template
- Your conflict of interest avoidance system documentation
- Your attorney roster with names, bar numbers, and jurisdictions
You answer what you can; a licensed agent fills the rest with you.
What our patent practice clients ask us.
Why are patent practices different from other law firm malpractice?
The deadlines are set by statute and treaty and run from dates you do not choose. An application is abandoned if the reply to an Office action does not come within the period, which is at most six months and often shorter. A priority claim needs a filing within 12 months. A public disclosure more than a year before filing can become prior art. A national phase must be started within 30 months of priority in most offices. Courts can fix some of these and not others, and the client’s loss is the protection itself. The general lawyers policy fits, but the claim pattern differs, and the underwriter will ask about your docketing.
Which deadlines produce the claims?
Five come up again and again in the statutes. The reply period after an Office action (35 U.S.C. 133). The 12-month priority period for foreign filing and for a non-provisional that follows a provisional (35 U.S.C. 119). The one-year grace period for the inventor’s own disclosures (35 U.S.C. 102(b)(1)). The 30 months to enter national phases under the Patent Cooperation Treaty. And maintenance fees at 3.5, 7.5 and 11.5 years after grant with a six-month grace period (35 U.S.C. 41(b)). A docket that tracks these independently, with a second person checking, is what the underwriter wants to hear about.
What does claims-made mean, and why does it matter for a patent practice?
The policy that pays is the one in force when the claim is made against you, not the one in force when you did the work. A patent drafted in 2020 may be challenged in 2026, when the client tries to enforce it, so the 2026 policy responds, provided its retroactive date reaches back to 2020. Keep the retroactive date when you change carrier, and never let coverage lapse between policies.
I am moving to a new firm. What happens to my old work?
Your old work stays your exposure. The new firm’s policy responds to a claim about it only if its prior acts coverage reaches back, and a policy may exclude work done at a prior firm or before your arrival. Ask for prior acts covering your whole career, and ask the old firm how its policy treats a departing lawyer. Do this before you leave, since the answer can change what you sign.
I am retiring or closing my patent practice. Do I need a tail?
Almost certainly. A patent can be litigated years after it is granted, and a malpractice claim often surfaces only when it is. If the policy ends with the practice, nothing is in force when that claim arrives. Extended reporting keeps the right to report claims open for a stated period, and you buy it at the end, so ask what the terms are well before you need them.
I am a registered patent agent, not a lawyer. Am I insured under a law firm’s policy?
Do not assume either way. The USPTO registers attorneys and agents separately (37 CFR 11.6), and whether a lawyers professional liability policy treats an agent as an insured depends on its wording. Ask whether the policy names patent agents as insureds, whether it covers only work for the firm’s clients or also work you do on your own, and whether it excludes services by non-lawyers. If you work independently, tell us, and we will look for a form that covers a patent agent’s own practice.
Does a missed deadline claim need me to have been wrong about the law?
No. A claim can be built on a calendar entry that was never made, a notice that went to the wrong inbox, or an instruction from the client that nobody recorded. That is why underwriters ask about the system more than the lawyer. A claim can be filed even when you acted properly, and the defense cost is why the policy pays for defense as well as damages, so check whether defense erodes the limit.
What happens if a foreign associate makes the mistake?
The client hired you, so the client’s claim usually comes to you, and you may then have a claim against the associate. Ask the insurer whether the policy covers errors by outside counsel you selected and instructed, and whether it has a condition on how associates are chosen. Underwriters ask about foreign filing volume, so have the number ready.
Where does a patent malpractice suit get filed?
In Gunn v. Minton (2013) the U.S. Supreme Court held unanimously that state courts keep jurisdiction over a malpractice claim against the lawyers who handled a patent case, even though patent infringement suits belong in federal court. The practical point is that your client may sue in a state court under state malpractice law. Your policy should defend a suit wherever it is filed.
What will the underwriter ask a patent practice?
Expect to describe your docketing system and who double-checks it, the split of your work between prosecution, litigation, licensing and opinions, how much foreign filing you do and through which associates, how concentrated your income is in a few clients, how you check conflicts between competing clients in a technology, how many registered practitioners you have, and whether you know of anything that could become a claim. Applications we have read for intellectual property lawyers also ask for engagement and disengagement letter templates and a backup attorney for a solo practitioner.
We use AI to help draft applications. Does that affect the insurance?
It can. The USPTO told practitioners in April 2024 that AI tools are not prohibited, that existing rules still apply, that relying on a tool’s accuracy is not a reasonable inquiry, and that AI use can expose confidential client information. Tell the insurer which tools you use and how the output is reviewed, then ask whether the policy excludes or limits claims arising from AI-assisted work. An unfiled invention disclosure pasted into a public tool is also a confidentiality problem that a cyber policy may or may not reach.
Is a missed maintenance fee really a malpractice claim?
It can be, if you were responsible for docketing it. The fee falls due at set points after grant, there is a six-month grace period, and a patent still unpaid at the end of it expires. Whether you were responsible depends on the engagement letter, which is why underwriters ask whether you use them, and why a disengagement letter saying you no longer docket a client’s patents is worth sending.
Which NAICS codes does this page cover?
Patent attorneys and IP law firms are in NAICS 541110 Offices of Lawyers. Registered patent agents who are not lawyers are generally classed in 541199 All Other Legal Services. Both titles are from the 2022 NAICS. The code decides how some applications and data sources classify you, and we quote on what you actually do.
Does the law firm page already cover this?
It covers the firm as a business, including the office, cyber, crime and employment policies, and it is the right place to start for those. This page is about the one policy that does the most work for a patent practice and the deadlines that drive its claims. A boutique usually needs both, and we can place them together.
What do you need to quote a patent practice?
The number of registered attorneys and agents, the split of work between prosecution, litigation, licensing and opinions, how much of it is foreign filing and who your associates are, your docketing system, your gross billings, your current policy with its retroactive date, and any claims or circumstances. If you are leaving a firm or retiring, tell us the date.
Commercial insurance is 96% of what we do — it is not a department here, it is the whole business. Not ready to talk? The guides answer the questions this page raises in more depth. Already insured with us and need a certificate or a policy change? Ask the service team rather than starting a quote — it is faster and it goes to the people whose job it is. We also write home and auto, which is usually cheaper alongside the business policy than apart from it.
Handed a lease, a vendor packet or a client contract with insurance requirements? Paste it into the COI Requirements Decoder to see what each one means for your business, or read what the requirements mean.