How much does it cost to hire a patent attorney to help one apply for a patent for a recipe for soup?

The local patent attorneys charge $5000 or more to apply for a simple patent. However, recipes can not be patented. Nor can they be copyrighted. The only thing you can do to protect a recipe is to refuse to share it with anyone else.

The standard for the Patent Office to issue a Patent is the invention must be new, useful, and not obvious over everything that came before it (the prior art). In most cases the typical recipe for a "killer Margarita" or "the best barbeque sauce ever" will not be patentable because the recipe will not be unique enough, typically failing on the non-obviousness requirement. Of course, the only way to know for sure is to understand how the Patent Office reaches its conclusions relating to what can and cannot be patented. It is certainly possible to obtain a patent on a recipe or food item if there is a unique aspect, perhaps if there is something counter-intuitive or a problem (such as shelf life or freshness) is being addressed. The trick will be identifying a uniqueness that is not something one would typically think to try. Good luck and we hope that this helps.

To be patentable - your soup recipe must be (1) new, (2) useful, and (3) not obvious in view of previous soup recipes. An average cost for a utility patent on this type of invention would likely be up to about $5000 (small entity). This would include a search fee, the patent drafting fee, the patent prosecution fees (filing and processing), and the issue fee. See for example US Patent No. 6,713,115 (2004). You can search for soup patents at www.uspto.gov. GOOD LUCK!