Costs of filing a business method patent:

In the US: Since business method patents require additional experts during the verification process, costs of filing and getting a patent number are much higher than other routine utility patent fees.

The other factors that would determine the actual expenses include necessity of lawyer, subject matter of the method, and challenges to claims if any. After grant, of course, the patentee is required to remit the statutory maintenance fees at 3.5, 7.5 and 11.5 years. Costs can be as much as five times greater when lawyers are pressed into service, than when the applicant decides to ‘go it alone'