A clear incandescent lightbulb with its filament glowing, the idea a patent protects
Every invention begins with a spark

Intellectual property attorneys for patents, trademarks and copyrights, serving clients nationwide from Texas.

Leavitt & Eldredge is an intellectual property law firm in Arlington, Texas, serving Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston. We register and defend patents, trademarks and copyrights for inventors and businesses, handled by registered patent attorneys at flat fees quoted in writing before any work begins.

Free consultation See what we protect

★★★★★ 550+ reviews · Super Lawyers · USPTO registered

The record

3,700+
Patents & trademarks secured
550+
5-star client reviews
30+
Years protecting inventors
14
Texas offices

Who we are

A boutique IP firm that treats your idea like it is worth defending.

Leavitt & Eldredge is a two-partner intellectual property firm that files and defends patents, trademarks, and copyrights for inventors and founders.

More about the firm

We have practiced from Arlington, Texas since 2008. Both partners are registered patent attorneys admitted to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office and licensed by the State Bar of Texas.

We work on flat fees quoted in writing before we begin, and we give you a straight answer about whether an idea is worth protecting. You work directly with the attorney handling your matter, not a filing service or a call center.

Richard Eldredge founded the firm in 2008 after a career as a licensed professional engineer, and still prepares the technical drawings for patent applications himself rather than sending them to an outside vendor. Brandon Leavitt, a published biochemist before law school, leads the litigation practice: he is admitted in all four Texas federal district courts and has argued before the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.

The principal office is in Arlington, with offices in Dallas on Oak Lawn Avenue, downtown Fort Worth on Main Street, Allen, Carrollton, Mansfield, Plano, and three in the Houston area: Houston, The Woodlands and Sugar Land. Most matters run entirely by phone and email, and clients in every state file through us with the USPTO.

Two leather armchairs and a lamp in the firm consultation room

How we help

Six ways we protect what you have built.

01
Patents
A patent protects an invention that is new, useful and non-obvious: a machine, a manufactured good, a process or a chemical composition. Most matters start with a provisional application, often filed within days so you can use patent pending status while we prepare the full application, then we prosecute it with the USPTO through to a decision, generally 1 to 3 years.
02
Trademarks
A trademark protects the words, logos, colors, shapes and other identifiers that let customers tell your goods and services apart from everyone else's. Federal registration through the USPTO shifts the burden of proof onto anyone who challenges it, generally lasts 10 years and can be renewed indefinitely as long as the required fees are paid on time.
03
Copyrights
Copyright protects an original work of authorship the moment it is fixed in a tangible form, books, music, photographs, software and more, without requiring registration first. We register those works with the U.S. Copyright Office, which strengthens your ability to enforce them and recover damages if someone copies your work without permission.
04
Trade Secrets
A trade secret covers what patents, trademarks and copyrights do not reach: a formula, a process, a customer list or a marketing strategy that gives your business independent economic value. We draft the confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements that keep it protected, and litigate when it is disclosed or used without permission.
05
IP Business Law
Protecting intellectual property starts with the right business structure. We advise on entity formation under the Texas Business Organizations Code, and draft, review and negotiate the licensing and assignment agreements that determine who owns, and who may use, what you create.
06
IP Litigation
When registration is not enough, we enforce it. Our registered patent attorneys litigate patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret disputes for clients across Texas, from a cease and desist letter through federal court.

What we protect

Every idea we protect goes on the record.

01 Patents Provisional, non-provisional, and PCT filings.
02 Trademarks Federal registration, clearance, and brand enforcement.
03 Copyrights Registration for original creative and written work.
04 Trade Secrets Agreements that keep your edge confidential.
05 IP Business Law Licensing and assignments around what you own.
06 IP Litigation Enforcement and defense when your IP is challenged.

Flat fees, no surprises

Straight pricing from real attorneys.

Real flat fees, not a range and not a teaser. Here is what the most common filings cost.

$1,200
Trademark registration
$2,000
Provisional patent
$5,000
Non-provisional patent
$1,850
LLC formation

Every quote is flat and in writing before we start.

Why we charge flat fees

We keep a lean staff so every dollar has a purpose, accept payment by installment, and aim for a one to two week turnaround to get your matter moving. Flat fees mean you can plan and budget your legal costs the way you plan everything else in your business, with no hourly clock running against you.

How it works

From first call to a filed, defensible right.

01
Free consultation
Book a free 15-minute consultation and tell us about your invention, brand or dispute. You work directly with the attorney handling your matter and get a straight answer about whether it is worth protecting, not a call center script.
02
Search and flat fee
Before any work begins we search the USPTO or Copyright Office records for conflicts and quote your entire matter as a flat fee in writing, so there is no hourly billing and no surprise invoice later.
03
Filing
We prepare and file your application. Most patent matters start with a provisional filing, often within days, so you can use patent pending status while the fuller non-provisional application is prepared and filed.
04
Prosecution and defense
We prosecute the application with the USPTO or Copyright Office through to a final decision, generally 1 to 3 years for a patent, and if your rights are challenged later we litigate to defend them.

When it is challenged

We do not just file it.
We defend it.

Registration is the start. When someone uses what is yours, Leavitt & Eldredge enforces it, with registered patent attorneys who litigate.

Talk to an attorney

Your attorneys

Registered patent attorneys, not a filing service.

Both partners came to law from earlier careers in engineering and science, and that background still shapes how the firm works: an attorney who can follow the technical detail of your invention as closely as the legal standard it has to meet before the USPTO.

Brandon J. Leavitt, partner and intellectual property litigator

Brandon J. Leavitt

Partner

Super Lawyers
Intellectual property litigation
State Bar of Texas

Read Brandon’s background
Richard G. Eldredge, partner and registered patent attorney

Richard G. Eldredge

Partner

Super Lawyers
USPTO Registered Patent Attorney
State Bar of Texas

Read Richard’s background

Common questions

Questions inventors ask us.

Not seeing yours? A 15-minute call with an attorney is free, and you get a straight answer.

Free consultation
How much does a patent cost?
A provisional patent application is a flat $2,000 and a nonprovisional application is $5,000, each including the patent search, drafting, illustrator and filing clerk fees, attorney time, and the USPTO filing fee for one application. A design patent is $1,500. Office action responses are quoted separately when they arise, and every fee is in writing before we start.
Where are your offices?
The principal office is at 4204 Southwest Green Oaks Blvd, Suite 140, in Arlington, Texas. We also meet clients in Dallas on Oak Lawn Avenue, in downtown Fort Worth on Main Street, in Allen, Carrollton, Mansfield and Plano, and in the Houston area at Houston, The Woodlands and Sugar Land. Most matters are handled by phone and email, so an office visit is rarely required.
Do you work with clients outside Texas?
Yes. Patents and federal trademarks are filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, so a registered patent attorney can represent an inventor or business in any state. We file for clients across the country, and the process runs by phone, email and the client portal.
Can you defend my patent or trademark if someone copies it?
Yes, and that is the difference between a filing service and a law firm. Brandon Leavitt, our lead litigator, is admitted in all four Texas federal district courts and has argued before the Federal Circuit and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. The firm has tried an intellectual property case to verdict in federal court and won, and handles cease and desist letters, oppositions and infringement suits.
How much does a trademark cost?
A federal trademark registration is a flat $1,200, quoted in writing before we start.
How long does a patent take?
A provisional application can be filed in days. A non-provisional application is then prosecuted with the USPTO over the following months and years.
Do I really need a patent attorney?
Patents are examined by the USPTO and rejections are common. A registered patent attorney materially improves your odds of a granted, defensible patent.
What happens if someone copies my product?
If your intellectual property is registered we can send a demand and, if needed, litigate to enforce it.
Is the first consultation really free?
Yes. The first call is roughly fifteen minutes with an attorney, not a salesperson, and there is no charge and no obligation. You describe what you have built or what you are selling, and you get a straight answer on whether it is protectable, which filing fits, and what it would cost. If the honest answer is that you do not need a filing yet, we tell you that. Call 844-728-3680 Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm Central.
What do you need from me to get started?
Less than most people expect. For an invention, a plain description of how it works and what makes it different, plus any sketches, photos or CAD you already have. For a trademark, the exact name or logo and the goods or services you sell under it. The one thing to tell us early is any date you publicly disclosed, offered for sale, or sold the invention, because in the United States that starts a twelve-month clock to file.
Should I file a provisional first or go straight to a nonprovisional?
A provisional at $2,000 holds your filing date for twelve months and lets you say patent pending while you finish development, test the market, or talk to buyers. It is never examined and never becomes a patent on its own, so within that year you have to file the nonprovisional at $5,000 or lose the date. If the product is finished and you are ready to sell, filing the nonprovisional directly saves you a step and a fee.
Do you handle the business side, like forming the company?
Yes. LLC formation is a flat $1,850, and it is worth doing before the intellectual property is filed rather than after, because the applicant on a patent or trademark should usually be the entity that will own it. Moving a filing to a new company later means an assignment and a recordation that could have been avoided. We also handle assignments between founders and licensing of what you already own.
What is intellectual property?
Intellectual property covers the intangible rights an inventor or creator holds in what they made, enforced through patents, trademarks and copyrights. These rights have become more important as more of what businesses create moves into software, biotechnology and other intangible forms.
How long does a trademark registration last?
A federal trademark registration generally lasts 10 years and can be renewed indefinitely as long as the required fees are paid and the mark stays in use.
What is the difference between a patent, a trademark and a copyright?
A patent protects an invention or discovery, a trademark protects the words, logos or symbols that identify the source of your goods or services, and a copyright protects an original work of authorship such as writing, music or software. Many businesses need more than one.
Do you charge by the hour?
No. We quote flat fees in writing before any work begins and accept payment by installment, so you know the cost of your matter up front.
What is a trade secret and how is it protected?
A trade secret is information that gives your business independent economic value because it is not generally known, a formula, process or customer list, for example. It is protected through confidentiality agreements and, when necessary, litigation, rather than registration with a government office.

Allow us to help you protect all your intellectual property.

Free consultation

Arlington, Texas · Mon to Fri, 8am to 8pm CST