A company is developing new equipment, a material, or a technological process and, before launching the project, wants to understand: whether a similar solution already exists, whether its own development can be patented, and whether it infringes the existing rights of other companies.
At this stage a practical question arises: how much does a full-scale study cost?
The cost of patent research can differ several-fold. One bureau offers to check the patentability of a development for several tens of thousands of rubles, while another prices a comprehensive study under GOST at 70–100 thousand rubles and above. If several countries or a complex technology need to be checked, or a report additionally prepared, the price goes up.
According to the public price lists of patent companies in August 2026, a patentability study may start at approximately 32–45 thousand rubles, a patent clearance study from 60–70 thousand rubles, and full-scale patent research under GOST costs from 50–100 thousand rubles and above for some contractors.
Why is there such a spread? We examine how the cost of patent research is formed, what the work really includes, and how a traditional patent bureau differs from an AI service.
What the cost of technology patent research consists of
Technology patent research cannot be objectively valued solely by the number of pages of the future report.
The main work takes place earlier: the expert must analyze the object, define the subject of the search, select patent databases, find relevant documents, analyze analogues, and only then formulate conclusions.
Several factors affect the cost.
Complexity of the technology
Checking a simple mechanical device and studying a multi-stage chemical process are tasks of different labor intensity.
For example, new equipment may consist of several independent units:
- a housing;
- a drive;
- a feed system;
- a control unit;
- sensors;
- a software algorithm;
- an original way in which the elements interact.
In this case a single search query is not enough. Each essential technical feature must be taken into account when building the search strategy.
The more complex the object, the more documents have to be analyzed.
Purpose of the research
Patent research can solve completely different tasks.
A company may want to:
- determine the state of the art;
- find the closest analogues;
- check the novelty of a development;
- assess the prospects of patenting;
- conduct a patent clearance study;
- study technological trends;
- check competitors’ activity;
- substantiate the conduct of R&D.
The depth of analysis depends on the purpose. For example, searching for a few similar documents is usually cheaper than a comprehensive patent clearance study before launching industrial production.
Search geography
Patents are territorial in nature.
If products are planned to be manufactured only in Russia, the scope of work is one thing. If the company intends to also sell equipment in China, Kazakhstan, the USA, or European countries, an analysis of additional patent collections and of the legal status of documents will be required.
Therefore, an international study usually requires more resources.
Search depth
Sometimes it is enough to study a relatively short time period. In other cases it is necessary to analyze developments over decades.
The greater the depth of the research and the number of sources, the larger the volume of information that has to be processed.
Requirements for the result
It is also important to understand what exactly the customer should receive. This may be:
- a list of analogues;
- an analytical note;
- a patentability assessment;
- a patent clearance study;
- a patent landscape;
- a full-scale report under GOST R 15.011-2024.
That is why the price of a patent search at a bureau and the price of a full-scale study can differ significantly.
A simple search answers first of all the question: “What similar solutions exist?”
A full study must explain why the documents found matter for the specific development and what conclusions follow from this.
Patent research services: what a standard package includes
If a company orders patent research services, the work usually begins not with the search but with studying the technology itself.
A high-quality study includes several sequential stages.
1. Analysis of source materials
The contractor studies:
- the technical description;
- drawings;
- diagrams;
- specifications;
- principle of operation;
- the expected technical result.
If the information is insufficient, the features of the development have to be clarified additionally.
2. Identification of essential features
The technology must be broken down into the elements that truly determine its technical essence.
For example, it is not enough to search simply for a “water treatment system”.
It is necessary to take into account specific filters, the sequence of processes, processing parameters, the design of individual units and their interaction.
3. Forming the search strategy
The following are determined:
- the subject of the search;
- keywords;
- synonyms;
- IPC classes;
- countries;
- depth of search;
- the patent databases to be used.
4. Patent search
After that, the actual search for documents begins. Moreover, a high-quality search must not be limited to literal matches in the title.
The same technical solution may be described by different applicants in completely different terms.
5. Analysis of the documents found
The most important stage.
Getting a list of a hundred patents is relatively easy. It is much harder to understand which of them really relate to the development under study. The documents must be sorted, compared with the technical features of the object, and the closest solutions identified.
6. Preparation of conclusions
Depending on the assignment, the conclusions may concern:
- patentability;
- novelty;
- the state of the art;
- patent clearance;
- prospects for further development;
- technological trends.
And only after that are the patent research documents drawn up and the final materials prepared.
Before performing classical work, the parties may also enter into a contract for patent research, which defines the object, the task, the search territory, the deadlines, the content of the result, and the cost.
Patent research on patentability: a separate service or part of a package
Patent research on patentability is needed when a developer wants to understand whether it makes sense to file a patent application. The main question here is: how much does the new technical solution differ from the known state of the art? To answer it, the closest analogues are found and their features are compared with the development. Such research can be a standalone service.
For example, a company does not yet intend to bring a product to market and wants first to decide whether it is worth investing in patenting. According to the public price lists of some bureaus, such a check starts at approximately 32–45 thousand rubles. But a patentability assessment can also be part of a broader study of the technology. It is important not to confuse it with patent clearance.
Patentability answers the question: “Can we potentially obtain our own patent?”
Patent clearance answers a different one: “Can we manufacture and use this product without infringing the existing rights of third parties?”
A new development may theoretically be patentable and at the same time infringe an existing patent of another company.
Drawing up patent research under GOST R 15.011-2024
The current GOST R 15.011-2024 establishes uniform requirements for the organization, methodological support, conduct, content, and drawing up of patent research in Russia. The standard applies, among other things, to R&D, technological and production work, state and municipal contracts, other contracts, and self-initiated projects.
A full-scale result is not just a table of patents found. A consistent evidentiary base is formed: task → search regulation → search → selection of documents → analysis → conclusions → report.
By the way, there is also the patent form. It is sometimes mistakenly considered another name for patent research.
In fact, it is a separate technical document. In compact form it reflects the state of the object from the point of view of patent clearance and legal protection. Patent research itself is much broader: it involves searching, analyzing documents, comparing technical solutions, and substantiating conclusions. The patent form uses the results of this work and records certain information about the object.
And if you need to understand in more detail the final documentation, the structure of the research, and what a patent clearance check shows, we have covered this separately in the article “Patent Research Report: How to Draw It Up and What Patent Clearance Proves”.
Patent bureau and AI service: comparison of cost and timelines
Traditionally, patent research is ordered from a patent bureau or from specialized professionals. This approach has an advantage: the expert personally performs the search, analyzes the materials, and formulates the conclusions. But a significant part of the cost of the service is tied precisely to the amount of the specialist’s working time.
It is necessary to manually:
- analyze the description;
- form queries;
- check databases;
- sort the results;
- read the documents;
- compare features;
- compile tables;
- prepare the report.
Therefore, a patent bureau sets its rates taking into account the labor intensity of a particular project.
As of August 2026, public price lists show quite a wide spread:
- patentability study — from 32–45 thousand rubles;
- patent clearance study — from 60–70 thousand rubles;
- comprehensive patent research — from 50–100 thousand rubles and above;
- separate drawing up of a report under GOST at some contractors — about 25 thousand rubles.
This is not a single “market rate” but examples of prices published by specific contractors. The final amount depends on the technology and the assignment.
A similar situation arises if you look into how much a patent attorney charges: the cost of services is usually determined not only by the search itself but also by the depth of expert analysis.
The timelines for patent research services may also range from several business days to several weeks. For example, public price lists contain timelines from six business days for individual patentability studies and about a month for comprehensive studies. An AI service changes the economics of the process.
An algorithm can automatically:
- analyze the technical description;
- identify features;
- select search directions;
- analyze large arrays of documents;
- search for solutions by meaning;
- systematize analogues;
- generate materials for the report.
The human is not excluded from the process.
In patent clearance especially, it is necessary to verify the legal status of documents, the scope of legal protection, and the correctness of the final conclusions. POSINT itself recommends using the results of automated processing as a basis for analysis and final verification in accordance with the user’s internal procedures.
But automating the most labor-intensive operations makes it possible to significantly reduce the amount of manual work.
This is where savings on patent research arise: the specialist spends time not on mechanically reviewing thousands of documents but on setting the task, checking relevant results, and making decisions.
How much patent research costs at POSINT
POSINT’s payment model differs from that of a traditional patent bureau.
It is not a price list of “one report — one fixed price” but access to an AI service under a plan.
According to the plans in effect as of August 2026:
- the “Advanced” plan costs 2,500,000 rubles per year and includes 5,000 tokens;
- the “Maximum” plan costs 5,000,000 rubles per year and includes 10,000 tokens;
- both plans provide for patent research under GOST R 15.011-2024, technology reviews, and patent landscapes.
If, purely arithmetically, the cost of the annual plan is distributed over the number of included tokens, one token in these two plans corresponds to approximately 500 rubles, and an operation of 10 tokens to approximately 5,000 rubles of plan resource.
But it is important to understand this figure correctly.
5,000 rubles is not a separate public selling price of one patent research study. It is the calculated cost of token consumption within an annual license. The user acquires access to the platform as a whole and can also use tokens for other tasks: international search, preparation of applications, technological analytics, and other operations provided for by the plan.
Therefore, POSINT is especially interesting for companies, universities, scientific organizations, and R&D departments that need not one study a year but constant work with developments.
For example, if an enterprise carries out dozens of R&D projects simultaneously, the classical scheme looks like this: new development → request to the bureau → agreeing on the cost → contract → waiting for the result → next object → new order.
In “POSINT” the work can be organized differently: technology description → AI analysis → international patent search → analysis of analogues → patent research materials → next development.
The official “POSINT” website states that the service performs an international patent search in approximately 15 minutes. At the same time, the full research cycle may include additional analysis and verification of the final conclusions — it should not be reduced only to the time of the automatic search.
When a patent bureau is more advantageous and when “POSINT” is
If a company needs a single complex, legally significant study and has no employee within the organization capable of verifying the result, working with a specialized expert or a patent bureau may be more rational.
If, however, the enterprise constantly:
- develops new technologies;
- carries out R&D
- analyzes competitors;
- assesses the patentability of solutions;
- checks patent clearance;
- prepares applications;
- studies foreign technologies,
automation begins to produce a different economic effect.
In this case, what should be compared is not the price of a single report but the cost of patent work over a year.
Suppose a company needs 30 studies. Even at a hypothetical bureau price of 70,000 rubles, one study means 2.1 million rubles for just one category of tasks. And if patent searches, applications, technology reviews, and studies in several areas are needed at the same time, expenses increase.
Therefore, the main advantage of an AI service is not only the speed of an individual operation but the opportunity to build a permanent internal system of patent analytics.
Conclusion:
The cost of patent research is formed primarily from the volume of information, the complexity of the development, and the time needed for search and analysis. Previously, most of this work was inevitably performed manually. Today a significant volume of operations can be handed over to artificial intelligence.
The “POSINT” AI assistant helps conduct international patent searches, analyze analogues, and prepare patent research materials under GOST R 15.011-2024. The patent research functionality is officially declared in the service and is available in the relevant plans.
If your company regularly engages in R&D, or in the development of equipment, materials, or new technologies, calculate not only the price of one study at a bureau but the total annual expenses for patent analytics.
Leave a request for a POSINT demonstration and check on your own development how much time can be saved on searching and analyzing patent information.