Swift & Strategic Patent Counsel for Your Intellectual Property

Registered Patent Attorney. 10,000+ Hours in Trademark Law. Est. Since 2011.

Swift & Strategic Patent Counsel for Your Intellectual Property

Registered Patent Attorney. 10,000+ Hours in Trademark Law. Est. Since 2011.

About the Founder: Jack Fritz, Esq.

Founder & CEO

Jack Fritz is a Registered Patent Attorney with deep expertise in trademark law. He serves as a Fractional Chief Patent Officer for companies that need senior IP leadership without a full-time hire, and as Of Counsel to established firms on matters that require a registered specialist. Native bilingual in English and Spanish.

Jack Fritz, Esq.
Founder, Fritz Law Group | CEO, Patent Jack Professional Corporation
USPTO Reg. Patent Attorney Lic.: #73643
California Bar Lic.: #277895
Washington DC Lic.: #1016962
Engineer EIT: #147769

Education & Foundations

Mr. Fritz earned his B.A. in Critical Film and Media Studies at UC Santa Barbara, building a foundation in semiotics and theories of representation that would later inform his trademark practice. He earned his J.D. at Southwestern Law School with an emphasis in entertainment law, serving as an editor of JIMEL, the Journal of International Media and Entertainment Law, and as one of the original members of the Beverly Hills Bar Association IP & New Media Section. He studied abroad at UCL's Bentham House Faculty of Laws, concentrating in cybercrime law and technology contract drafting.

Academic Awards & Leadership

Mr. Fritz received CALI and Witkin awards for academic excellence and is a three-time recipient of the Schumacher Scholarship for Diversity Leadership. A native Spanish speaker, he served as Co-President of the Latino Law Students Association. Outside the practice, he competes in triathlons, a discipline that brings the same focus and endurance to law.

Practice Experience

Before launching a network of boutique law firms, Mr. Fritz practiced at two highly regarded firms, one a pillar of trademark law and the other of patent law. There he earned firm-wide rainmaker awards and maintained a 100% Net Promoter Score on complex patent consultations, working with practices affiliated with the world's first technology-driven legal company.

Vision

Mr. Fritz has built his career at the intersection of law and advanced technology. His mission is to draft and prosecute the AI patents behind the next generation of breakthroughs: treatments for cancer and depression, climate solutions, and patient-specific pharmaceuticals. He is especially drawn to clients using AI to pioneer tailor-made medicine.

Frequently Asked Questions

The only way to reach us is through Calendly.

Why do you only accept inquiries through Calendly?

Calendly is our exclusive intake system because it blocks bots, and ensures we connect with prospective clients who are serious about engaging the firm. Booking takes two minutes: your name, a valid email address and phone number, and a clear description of your matter. If your issue falls within our scope of practice, we review it before we ever speak, so every call, including complimentary consultations, begins prepared rather than cold.

We do not publish a business phone number, and we do not respond to unsolicited emails or messages. This is deliberate. Our practice is built around a passion for cutting edge technology and a focus to precise processes. The clients we connect with best are comfortable with both. If booking through Calendly, providing accurate contact information, and describing your matter generally does not work for you, we are politely respectfully not the right firm for you.

What types of intellectual property does Patent Jack Professional Corporation handle?

We specialize in utility patent filings and prosecution (the back and forth negotiation with the USPTO examiner) for software and small mechanical devices, with more than fifteen years of experience managing trademarks across all classes. We also help clients using artificial intelligence to develop new medicines, materials, and methods secure protection for these emerging technologies.

What does adding a Fractional CPO mean for your C-Suite?

As featured on the All In Podcast.

Fast growing technology companies, especially those on track to become unicorns, often need a Chief Patent Officer's strategic oversight but not a full time executive salary. A Fractional CPO handles upfront filing strategy and ongoing portfolio maintenance (the deadlines, renewals, and fees that keep your rights alive), giving you in house C suite judgment without adding to payroll.

What does it take to become a patent attorney?

To become a USPTO Registered Patent Attorney, Mr. Fritz first had to go to law school and obtain a Doctorate of Law (J.D.), then pass the California Bar Exam, the hardest in the nation, then pass the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam, covering calculus, fluid mechanics, and computer science. And that was just to be allowed to sit for the federal USPTO Patent Bar Exam. In an average year, only about 2,300 candidates qualify to take that exam, and an estimated 900 pass for the whole United States. In medicine, the most technically educated field, there are only 4,000 neurosurgeons in the entire country; patent attorneys, at roughly 34,000, are just an order of magnitude beyond that. Non-patent attorneys may file trademarks for the label of a product, but not for the innovative features of the idea.

How long does it take to get a patent or trademark?

Utility patents currently average 23 to 27 months of total pendency (the waiting time from filing to grant), with a first office action (the examiner's first official letter) arriving 18 to 22 months in. Design patents average 19 to 22 months, and trademarks run about 4.4 months to first review and roughly 10 months to registration, with 9 to 18 months a realistic planning window.

Source: USPTO Patents Dashboard and Trademark Processing Wait Times, 2026.

What does it cost to file a patent or trademark?

Costs depend on complexity and how many office actions (examiner objections requiring a response) come before allowance. Provisional applications are the affordable entry point and buy twelve months of priority protection, non provisional utility patents cost more due to the depth of drafting and prosecution, and trademarks are typically less expensive. Typical figures appear below; we provide a clear, written fee estimate at your consultation.

Typical figures appear in the table just below this FAQ.

Attorney fees shown are typical means, not quotes. Government fees are USPTO and Copyright Office lowest-tier amounts and change periodically.

What is the difference between a provisional and a non provisional patent application?

A provisional establishes a priority date (your official place in line) and lets you say patent pending for twelve months, but it is never examined and expires if not followed by a non provisional filing. The non provisional is the application the USPTO actually examines, and the only path to an issued, enforceable patent.

Can I file a patent or trademark myself without an attorney?

Yes, you can file pro se (on your own behalf), but self filed applications carry meaningfully higher rejection and abandonment rates, especially for utility patents where claims (the sentences that legally define what is protected) demand precise legal and technical drafting. Trademark self filers often hit avoidable refusals over likelihood of confusion (a mark too similar to one on file) or improper specimens (proof of real world use).

Do you work with startups and companies using artificial intelligence?

Yes. We actively work with companies using AI to discover new medicines, materials, and methods, and our approach documents genuine human inventive contribution alongside the AI assisted process, currently the most defensible strategy under USPTO patent eligibility guidance.

How can I get a software patent after Alice and Mayo?

Software can still be patented, but after Mayo and Alice every claim must pass the two step Alice Mayo test under 35 U.S.C. § 101: is the claim directed to an abstract idea (a bare concept like math or organizing human activity), and if so, does it add an inventive concept (a real technical contribution beyond a generic computer)?

The most important shift for applicants to understand is that examiners are not rejecting software because it is software. They are rejecting claims that describe a business result achieved on a computer, rather than a technical improvement to how the computer itself works. The winning strategy is to frame the invention around a specific technical problem, describe the prior technical approach and why it fell short, then explain the concrete technical mechanism that solves the problem, not just the outcome it produces. Claims should describe the mechanism itself rather than simply claiming that a system is configured to optimize or improve a result. In 2025 and 2026, the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued new internal guidance encouraging examiners to give more weight to technical specificity in the specification, and data shows the appeal reversal rate for these rejections has climbed substantially as a result. For our clients, this means detailed, technically grounded drafting is more valuable than ever, and it is exactly the kind of drafting our software patent practice is built around.

Sources: Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International, 573 U.S. 208 (2014); Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories, 566 U.S. 66 (2012); MPEP § 2106.

Can the same product be protected by more than one type of IP?

Copyright cannot protect purely functional features (parts that exist to make the product work rather than express a creative choice), though a utility patent can. A logo can be protected by both copyright (the artwork) and trademark (the source identifier on goods in commerce), and a distinctive product shape can carry trade dress protection (the look consumers associate with you) and a design patent at the same time.

Cat burglars, ninjas, and hackers: why a trade secret is not always enough

A trade secret protects your formula, process, or method only against misappropriation (improper acquisition), meaning cat burglars, corporate spies, and hackers. It does nothing against lawful reverse engineering, increasingly supercharged by AI, and once a competitor legally figures out your secret, your protection is gone. A utility patent instead gives you the right to exclude (the power to stop anyone from making, using, selling, or importing your invention for up to twenty years), even against someone who figured it out entirely on their own.

How are patent eligibility conflicts evaluated?

Patent subject matter eligibility conflicts, such as those arising under Alice and Mayo, are governed by federal examining procedure and are evaluated according to the two step framework described in official USPTO guidance. See MPEP § 2106.

How are trademark conflicts evaluated?

Trademark conflicts are primarily evaluated under the likelihood of confusion standard, which examining attorneys apply using the DuPont factors as set forth in official USPTO examining procedure. See TMEP § 1207.01.

Mon	09:00 am – 05:00 pm
Tue	09:00 am – 05:00 pm
Wed	09:00 am – 05:00 pm
Thu	09:00 am – 05:00 pm
Fri	09:00 am – 05:00 pm
Sat	Closed
Sun	Closed

Swift & Strategic Patent Counsel for Your Intellectual Property

Swift & Strategic Patent Counsel for Your Intellectual Property

Patent Jack Professional Corporation | Fritz Law Group

A Network of Boutique Specialty Law Firms For Comprehensive Intellectual Property Services

The Only Way to Reach Us is Calendly

What Clients Say about Patent Jack PC.

About the Founder: Jack Fritz, Esq.

Founder & CEO

Education & Foundations

Academic Awards & Leadership

Practice Experience

Vision

Registered. On the record.

Frequently Asked Questions

Typical Costs at a Glance

Hours

Patent Jack Professional Corporation

Hours Austin, TX (CST)

Swift & Strategic Patent Counsel for Your Intellectual Property

Swift & Strategic Patent Counsel for Your Intellectual Property

Patent Jack Professional Corporation | Fritz Law Group

A Network of Boutique Specialty Law Firms For Comprehensive Intellectual Property Services

The Only Way to Reach Us is Calendly

What Clients Say about Patent Jack PC.

About the Founder: Jack Fritz, Esq.

Founder & CEO

Education & Foundations

Academic Awards & Leadership

Practice Experience

Vision

Registered. On the record.

Frequently Asked Questions

Typical Costs at a Glance

Hours

Patent Jack Professional Corporation

Hours Austin, TX (CST)

This website uses cookies.