IP Renewals
Transform Patent Renewals from Administrative Burden to Strategic Advantage
Eliminate the administrative strain of intellectual property protection with Black Hills Renewals’ transparent, reliable, cost-effective patent renewals.
Schedule a Black Hills IP Renewals Consultation
Effortless Oversight
for Annuity Management
Managing IP renewals is a critical and complex challenge that often leads to rising costs and high liabilities.
Black Hills Renewals is a reliable U.S.-based partner that delivers peace of mind by simplifying patent portfolio management through superior service and strategic decisions, so you can innovate with confidence and know that your intellectual property is expertly protected.
Flexible, Custom Solutions
for Every Organization
Transform IP annuity management into a strategic advantage with Black Hills IP Renewals’ proprietary system
Benefits of Patent Renewal Outsourcing
With Black Hills AI
Submit payment instructions with itemized costs and no hidden fees
Tag patents for analysis manually or in bulk from your system
Estimate future annuity costs and identify potential savings
Find essential patents & inventors with analytics and evidence of use scans
View past and present payments & their status on current invoices
Review & rate patent families based on family size and coverage
Leverage automation and AI to search for evidence of use in the global market or within specific jurisdictions
Fully Transparent Pricing
- $0 Onboarding Fee
- $0 Monthly or Yearly Cost
- $0 Software Charges
- 0% Currency Exchange Markup
- No Foreign Agent Kickbacks
- Unlimited Seat Licenses
- No Minimum Portfolio Size
- Cancel Anytime
White Glove Service
Save time and ensure 100% accuracy with personalized solutions handled by annuity and system experts.
Manual Instructions
Don't want to go into the system? Shoot us an email, letting us know what you paid, abandoned, or paid elsewhere, and and we’ll update your portfolio.
Annuity Status Retrieval
Onboarding or acquiring cases from a merger? We can collect annuity payment history from the USPTO and most foreign patent offices to confirm payment.
Reports
Request tailor-made spreadsheets from our team, including special cost projection reports on your upcoming annuities, payment history, and much more!
White Glove Service Costs
All base fees listed are subject to change based on the complexity of the work and whether or not orders are made in bulk.
Manual Instructions
$45
- Send Requests by Email
- Second-Eye Review
- Confirmation Report
- Discounts on Bulk Orders
Reports
$45
- Send Requests by Email
- Receive Within 7 Days
- Price May Vary Based on Complexity
Status Retrieval
$24
- Send Requests by Email
- Receive Confirmation of Status at PTO
- $0 Charge if Status Cannot be Retrieved
- Discounts on Bulk Orders
Retrieval + Updates
$65
- Send Requests by Email
- Receive Confirmation
- Your portfolio will be updated in the system
- Discounts on Bulk Orders
Patent Annuity Management
by Black Hills Renewals
Black Hills AI and Black Hills Renewals are nimble, responsive, and highly trusted partners for your entire IP lifecycle — from renewals to docketing, paralegal services, and more through Otto IP™, our proprietary suite of AI tools.
We empower IP protectors by reducing operational complexities, mitigating risks, and optimizing costs so you can build an unparalleled competitive advantage.
Hear From Black Hills Renewals Customers
“Ward Law Office has been pleased to work with the docketing and maintenance/renewal teams at Black Hills IP. Their professionalism, responsiveness, and attention to detail is excellent. We can recommend Black Hills IP for these services without reservation.”
– Jacob Ward, Founder & Attorney, Ward Patent Law
“Paying annuities was a horrible chore … there have been a number of advantages in moving to Black Hills IP Renewals. For starters, it’s been hugely helpful being able to run a cost model on both individual patents and on patent families that aid in strategic decision-making. We love utilizing custom tags by technology applicability, M&A, licenses and relevance to competition, and third-party obligations.”
– David Joyal, VP Legal, Global Supply, and Patent, Coty Inc.
“The granularity of the data on this system is astounding. It is far more user-friendly than any other annuity system. You’re going to love it.”
– Glen Belvis, Principal, Belvis Law LLC
“The power of this platform is that it provides objective roots to decision-making. You can evaluate your IP by forward citations, by how many cases were filed by that class in that year and then plan subsequent activity. Lastly, you can provide cost predictability. If I need to provide an immediate 20% budget reduction, let’s model that a couple ways on my annuity budget and give it to the business to make decisions and explain what they get for each level of spend. This tool allows you to do that and is tremendously powerful.”
– David Joyal, VP Legal, Global Supply, and Patent, Coty Inc.
“The power of this platform is that it provides objective roots to decision-making. You can evaluate your IP by forward citations, by how many cases were filed by that class in that year and then plan subsequent activity. Lastly, you can provide cost predictability. If I need to provide an immediate 20% budget reduction, let’s model that a couple ways on my annuity budget and give it to the business to make decisions and explain what they get for each level of spend. This tool allows you to do that and is tremendously powerful.”
– Jacob Ward, Founder & Attorney, Ward Patent Law
“Paying annuities was a horrible chore … there have been a number of advantages in moving to Black Hills IP Renewals. For starters, it’s been hugely helpful being able to run a cost model on both individual patents and on patent families that aid in strategic decision-making. We love utilizing custom tags by technology applicability, M&A, licenses and relevance to competition, and third-party obligations. ”
– David Joyal, VP Legal, Global Supply, and Patent, Coty Inc.
“The granularity of the data on this system is astounding. It is far more user-friendly than any other annuity system. You’re going to love it.”
– Glen Belvis, Principal, Belvis Law LLC
The power of this platform is that it provides objective roots to decision-making. You can evaluate your IP by forward citations, by how many cases were filed by that class in that year and then plan subsequent activity. Lastly, you can provide cost predictability. If I need to provide an immediate 20% budget reduction, let’s model that a couple ways on my annuity budget and give it to the business to make decisions and explain what they get for each level of spend. This tool allows you to do that and is tremendously powerful.”
– David Joyal, VP Legal, Global Supply, and Patent, Coty Inc.
Black Hills Renewals
Frequently Asked Questions
What is your fee structure?
We are committed to 100% transparency with our pricing. We charge a one-time management fee per annuity payment we make on your behalf. That’s it. No onboarding, yearly, or hidden fees.
How do you keep our portfolio data up-to-date?
It’s up to you, but we recommend connecting us with your law firm. We’ve found the best practice is to set up automated reports out of a patent docketing system. Need help? We can provide documentation on how to create “set it and forget it” reports out of most major systems. Once we receive these reports, we carry out a data reconciliation procedure, comparing the new data with what is in our system to make any necessary updates.
Do you always pay directly, or do you use foreign agents?
We always pay directly when we can, but we are required to go through a local agent in some countries. In those cases, the “agent fee” will always reflect exactly what we are charged. We never receive foreign agent kickbacks.
What methods of payment can I use?
You can pay by wire transfer, ACH, credit card, debit card, or by mailing us a check.
Do you have a minimum portfolio size?
No, we accept clients who have one payment per year or thousands.