How Much Does a Patent Valuation Cost? Prices and Fees 2026 (France & Switzerland)

2026 price ranges for a patent valuation, cost drivers, and priced case studies, in France and Switzerland.

Introduction: how much does a patent valuation really cost in 2026?

A patent valuation costs, in 2026, between EUR 5,000 and 35,000 (CHF 5,000 to 38,000) for a single patent, depending on the level of defensibility required, and from EUR 35,000 (CHF 38,000) with no fixed ceiling for a portfolio of several patents or an intragroup transfer pricing file. These ranges reflect the market practice observed by Hectelion on the French-Swiss market and are detailed section by section throughout this article.

A patent valuation estimates, in euros or Swiss francs, the economic value of the exclusive rights attached to a patented invention, an intangible asset in the accounting sense, as framed internationally by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Unlike the filing of the title, which legally protects the invention against infringement, the valuation quantifies this right's ability to generate future economic benefits, whether in the context of a license, a transfer, a contribution in kind, or a transmission. For a complete overview of applicable methods, see our reference publication on patent valuation and appraisal.

"An intangible asset is an identifiable non-monetary asset without physical substance, controlled by an entity, from which future economic benefits are expected.", IASB, IAS 38, paragraph 8.

Three factors converge in 2026 to make this pricing question more pressing than before.

First, tax scrutiny of intellectual property transfers is intensifying under the OECD's BEPS project and the DEMPE analysis (development, enhancement, maintenance, protection, exploitation), which requires a documented valuation as soon as a patent changes hands between entities of the same group.

Second, artificial intelligence is transforming the preparatory work of valuers, prior art searches, structuring of financial data, royalty benchmarking, without replacing professional judgment, which changes the cost structure of engagements without lowering the bar.

Third, the share of patents linked to artificial intelligence and biotechnology is rising sharply among published filings, two technology families whose short life cycles, clinical or technical uncertainty, and dependence on proprietary data complicate valuation and raise the fees of the most demanding engagements.

This article details price ranges by service level, the factors that make a quote vary, billing methods, the process and timeline of an engagement, a factual comparison of the options available on the French-Swiss market, Hectelion's pricing, the levers for controlling cost without sacrificing the defensibility of the report, 2026 trends, the five costliest mistakes, priced case studies built from observed market practice, and the ten questions most frequently asked by executives and their advisors.

The price of a patent valuation at a glance: 2026 ranges

The table below summarizes the three service levels observed on the French-Swiss market for the valuation of a patent. It serves as a budgeting benchmark before going into the detail of the factors that, section by section, explain where a given engagement sits within each range.

Service level	Price France (EUR)	Price Switzerland (CHF)	Method	Timeline
Indicative valuation, single patent	EUR 5,000 to 15,000	CHF 5,000 to 16,000	Single primary method	2 to 4 weeks
Defensible valuation, single patent	EUR 15,000 to 35,000	CHF 16,000 to 38,000	Cross-checked multi-method	4 to 8 weeks
Portfolio of several patents or intragroup transfer pricing file	From EUR 35,000	From CHF 38,000	Multi-method, DEMPE analysis	8 to 14 weeks

Price ranges: Hectelion's 2026 practice. For a patent, the engagement generally sits in the upper part of each tier compared with an equivalent brand: the excess profit method or the Multi-Period Excess Earnings Method (MEEM), the main methods used for a patent, are more data-intensive than the relief-from-royalty method generally used for a brand. A patent in an early stage, at low TRL, calls instead for real-options methods to capture technical uncertainty, while a patent at the core of a license or a transfer relies in addition on a relief-from-royalty analysis and a review of comparable licenses observable on the market. The portfolio tier has no fixed ceiling, as an engagement covering several dozen patents or several jurisdictions can substantially exceed the entry threshold shown.

Scope the budget for your patent valuation engagement

The quote for a patent valuation depends directly on the scope, the level of defensibility required, and the number of jurisdictions involved. To get a precise scope tailored to your portfolio, book a call with Hectelion: a first thirty-minute conversation qualifies the context, identifies the report level required, and gives a budget order of magnitude before any commitment.

Acontos: get a free online estimate of your company's value

Before going into the detail, note that Hectelion has built Acontos, an online audit, due diligence and business valuation tool, powered by Anthropic's Claude Sonnet 5 artificial intelligence and calibrated on Hectelion's own methodology.

From your accounts, it produces a first estimate of the value of your shares within minutes, free of charge and without retaining any document. Launch the valuation simulator to get an order of magnitude, then keep reading to understand what specifically determines the price of a patent valuation.

What drives the price: scope, method and data

The number of patents and the structure of the portfolio weigh directly on the quote: a single, isolated patent calls for a targeted engagement, while a portfolio of several patents linked to the same technology or spread across several international families requires a consolidated analysis, often enriched with a value allocation across group entities.
The level of defensibility required changes the nature of the work: an indicative valuation, intended for internal use or to prepare a negotiation, mobilizes a single primary method, whereas a defensible valuation, produced for a transaction, a transmission, a contribution in kind, or litigation, requires cross-checked methods and reinforced documentation of assumptions.
The technical complexity and the stage of development of the invention strongly influence analysis time: a pharmaceutical or biotechnology patent in clinical phase, whose future flows depend on a probability of regulatory success, requires deeper work than a mechanical patent already commercially exploited.
The availability and quality of accounting, technical and contractual data, particularly comparable license agreements already signed by the company or observable on the market, determine the speed of the engagement: scattered or incomplete data lengthens both timeline and budget.
The number of filing jurisdictions, the European Patent Office, the US USPTO, national offices, adds a layer of legal and tax coordination that is reflected in the fees, particularly when several group entities are involved.
The urgency of the context, a due diligence under a tight deadline, litigation with a court deadline, or a funding round to close, can justify an accelerated mobilization of the team, with a direct effect on price.

Fixed fee or time and materials: how a patent valuation engagement is billed

In practice, the majority of patent valuation engagements, whether indicative or defensible on a single patent, are billed at a fixed fee: the scope, the methods used and the deliverable are defined in the engagement letter, giving the executive full budget visibility before the work starts.

Portfolio or intragroup transfer pricing engagements, on the other hand, often include a time-and-materials component, particularly when the DEMPE analysis requires back-and-forth with the group's legal and tax teams to document the allocation of functions, assets and risks between entities. In this case, a budget cap is generally set from the engagement letter to avoid any overrun, with checkpoints that allow the scope to be adjusted if new technical or legal elements emerge during the engagement.

In both France and Switzerland, it is customary to request a deposit at signing, with the balance billed on delivery of the final report.

Process and timeline of a patent valuation

An engagement begins with scoping: identifying the patent or patents concerned, the objective of the valuation (internal, transaction, tax, litigation) and the report level required. Document collection follows, gathering the patent title and its claims, the filing history in each jurisdiction, the accounts of the operating entity, existing license agreements and, for a patent still in development, available clinical or trial data.

The team then conducts a technical and legal analysis of the patent's scope, its remaining useful life and its competitive positioning, before selecting the valuation method or methods best suited, generally the excess profit method or the MEEM for a patent, possibly supplemented by a market approach if comparable transactions exist.

Financial modelling then projects the flows attributable to the patent, discounted at a rate adjusted for the asset's specific risk, before the report is drafted and delivered to the client, often accompanied by a question-and-answer session with the finance or legal teams.

For an indicative valuation of a single patent, this full cycle generally takes two to four weeks; it extends to four to eight weeks for a defensible valuation, and to eight to fourteen weeks for a portfolio or an intragroup transfer pricing file involving several jurisdictions.

This process breaks down, from scoping to delivery, into the following steps:

Signing the engagement letter and scoping the objective of the valuation
Sending the patent's technical and legal documentation (claims, filing history, license agreements)
Q&A exchange with the inventor or executive on the scope and stage of development of the patent
Drafting a draft report incorporating the method or methods selected
Presenting the draft report and discussing it with the finance or legal teams
Implementing requested corrections and additions
Delivering the final patent valuation report

This final report then serves as supporting documentation for a funding round, a license negotiation, a patent sale or, where applicable, litigation.

Comparing options: Big Four, boutique firms, accountants and official filing

Several categories of providers operate in patent valuation, each with a legitimate positioning depending on the context.

Big Four firms: they have broad multidisciplinary teams and international coverage useful for multinational groups with complex transfer pricing structures, with fees generally aligned with the upper end of the ranges presented above.

Independent boutique firms, such as Hectelion: they offer dedicated intangible asset valuation expertise with a lighter cost structure and direct availability of partners on the file, a format suited to SMEs, mid-caps and biotechnology companies that do not need the geographic coverage of a large network.

Accountants: those who normally handle the company's books can produce a first indicative estimate at a lower cost, but rarely have the methodological depth needed for a defensible valuation in litigation or transfer pricing matters, which positions them more toward the first tier of the range.

Official filing (INPI in France, IPI in Switzerland): it is not a valuation option. The National Institute of Industrial Property in France and the Federal Institute of Intellectual Property in Switzerland register and legally protect the title, they produce no estimate of its economic value, a point developed further below among the costliest mistakes.

Patent families and standard-essential patents: when the number of filings changes the price

A single patent almost never exists alone: an invention protected in France or Switzerland is frequently the subject of a family of corresponding filings in several jurisdictions, via the European Patent Office for multi-country validation in Europe, or directly with the US USPTO and other national offices.

For the valuer, a patent family is not valued as the sum of independent titles: members of the same family often protect the same invention under closely related claim wording, which requires reasoning on the economic flows generated by the invention as a whole, then documenting the allocation of that value across the jurisdictions where it is actually exploited. The case of standard-essential patents, those whose use is indispensable to comply with a recognized technical standard, adds a further dimension, as their value then depends as much on the volume of potential licensees as on the legal strength of the title itself.

A technology portfolio made up of several families, some with standard-essential status, almost always falls into the portfolio tier of the table above, with coordination across jurisdictions and the analysis of the actual scope of each title accounting for most of the time billed.

Hectelion's pricing for patent valuation

The ranges presented in this article reflect the market practice observed by Hectelion on comparable engagements carried out in France and Switzerland between 2024 and 2026, not a fixed price list. Each engagement is quoted individually after an initial scoping conversation, which takes into account the number of patents, the level of defensibility required, the number of filing jurisdictions and the availability of data.

Hectelion applies the same pricing transparency across all of its intangible asset valuation engagements, whether patents, brands, software or know-how: the scope, the methods used and the timeline are set in an engagement letter before any financial commitment, with no hidden fees and no unilateral revision of the fixed fee during the mandate. Internal teams looking to build expertise in these methods can also attend Hectelion's patent valuation training.

Comparing providers: Big Four, boutique firms, online platforms

Beyond the Big Four, boutique firm and accountant positioning described above, the choice of provider also distinguishes online platforms, which automate a first low-cost estimate but without an individualized review of the file or defensibility in the event of a challenge, from industrial property firms and boutique valuation firms specialized in valuation, the only ones able to document a defensible methodology.

Why Choose Hectelion for Your Patent Valuation

Nine concrete points set Hectelion apart from other providers:

Entrepreneurial experience: before reasoning about a patent portfolio, Aristide Ruot founded and ran companies, negotiated funding rounds and absorbed cash-flow strain; this operational experience of risk informs the reading of the file, far from a purely academic approach to patent law.
Fee amounts follow the actual complexity of the patent examined, whether a single upstream-phase file or a multi-jurisdiction technology portfolio, not a standard fee schedule set by the size of the firm billing the engagement.
Methodological know-how: the choice between the excess profit method, the MEEM, or real options for a patent in development is arbitrated personally by Aristide Ruot, Ph.D., based on the frameworks recognized by the OECD and the IVSC.
A single team covers the patent valuation, the technical due diligence that accompanies it, the funding round it must secure and, where applicable, the structuring of the associated financial instruments, without handing the file to a second provider.
Level of rigor: the methodological rigor expected of a large international firm, without the mobilization delays or fee structure typical of Big Four networks.
Dual legal framework: a practice natively built on both jurisdictions, France and Switzerland, valuable as soon as a patent is filed or exploited on either side of the border.
Hectelion receives no remuneration from an investment fund or a financial intermediary involved in the transaction being valued, which keeps the report entirely focused on the interest of the executive who commissions it.
Controlled timelines: the report delivery schedule is announced from the scoping of the engagement and is respected, including on multi-jurisdiction portfolio files.
A meaningful volume of patents valued every year: Hectelion has valued, since its founding, between 5 and 20 patents a year as an independent advisory firm, a volume that reflects genuinely specialized know-how on this asset class rather than an occasional skill handled alongside other engagements.

A word of caution: the probative value of a patent valuation report depends above all on the posture of its author. As soon as a valuer receives remuneration from the investor, the prospective licensee, or any other party to the transaction, or holds an interest in its outcome, its conclusion can be set aside by the opposing party or by the tax authorities during an audit. Hectelion systematically positions itself as a third party external to the transaction it values, with no remuneration link to any of the parties involved.

How to reduce the cost of a patent valuation without losing defensibility

Five levers make it possible to control the budget of an engagement without weakening its robustness.

Preparing a complete documentary file upstream, patent claims, filing history, analytical accounts of the operating entity and existing license agreements, significantly reduces the collection time billed by the valuer.
Prioritizing the patents that actually carry value when the portfolio holds several avoids funding an in-depth analysis of secondary titles or those close to expiry.
Phasing the approach, an indicative valuation to scope a negotiation, followed by a defensible valuation only if the transaction materializes, spreads the expense and avoids an oversized report for internal use.
Anticipating the number of filing jurisdictions from the scoping of the engagement limits back-and-forth and late-stage coordination between legal counsel in several countries, a frequent source of budget overrun.
Choosing the right time to launch the engagement, before a negotiation opens rather than in urgency under deadline pressure, avoids the surcharge tied to an accelerated mobilization of the valuation team.

In summary, four concrete habits make it possible to approach budget scoping calmly:

Prepare the patent's technical documentation upstream and clearly position its TRL
Stabilize the scope of the patent and its claims before signing the mandate
Anticipate related needs (due diligence, financial structuring) to group them into a single engagement
Mandate a single firm for a French-Swiss file rather than two separate local providers

Combined, these levers reduce the collection and coordination time billed without ever reducing the methodological rigor of the final report.

2026 trends: taxation, artificial intelligence and new patent families

Three developments are shaping the patent valuation market in 2026.

The first is the growing intensity of tax scrutiny on intragroup transfers: the OECD's BEPS project and the DEMPE analysis now require detailed documentation of the allocation of value between entities as soon as a patent is transferred, licensed or restructured within a group, which increases demand for defensible rather than indicative reports.

The second is the acceleration of preparatory work by artificial intelligence, which automates prior art searches, the structuring of financial data and the benchmarking of comparable royalties, without replacing professional judgment on the choice of method or the assessment of risk, which is gradually changing the cost structure of engagements rather than their substantive rigor.

The third is the continued growth of patent filings linked to artificial intelligence and biotechnology, two technology families whose fast innovation cycles, dependence on proprietary data and, for biotechnology, clinical uncertainty, complicate valuation and tend to position these engagements toward the upper end of the ranges presented above.

The special case of pharmaceutical and biotech patents: risk premiums and clinical stage

A pharmaceutical or biotechnology patent follows a valuation logic not found in a conventional mechanical or industrial patent. Its future flows depend not only on a market and an estimated market share, but on a probability of regulatory success that varies significantly depending on the clinical development stage reached, preclinical, phase I, II or III.

This uncertainty translates concretely into a weighted average cost of capital markedly higher than for a mature industrial asset, often between 15% and 20% for a patent in clinical development, against 8% to 10% for a patent already commercialized, which weighs directly on the discounted value retained. Modelling must also account for the patent's remaining useful life, often reduced by the time already consumed by clinical trials before any commercialization, as well as the risk of a competitor challenging the validity of the title once the invention approaches market.

A valuation that ignores this clinical stage and applies a generic discount rate significantly under- or overstates the value of the portfolio, a mistake that institutional investors specialized in biotechnology detect immediately during a funding round.

The 5 mistakes that cost the most in a patent valuation

Mistake 1: confusing the patent filing with its valuation

Filing a patent with the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) in France or the Federal Institute of Intellectual Property in Switzerland legally protects the title against infringement, but produces strictly no priced value. This is a common and costly confusion: executives discover, at the moment of a negotiation or a tax audit, that they have no defensible estimate of the value of their patent, even though the title has been validly filed and defended for years.

Mistake 2: using an indicative valuation in a defensible context

An indicative valuation, built with a single primary method for internal use, does not withstand scrutiny from a court, a tax authority, or an institutional investor. Presenting this report level in a transaction, litigation, or a transfer pricing operation exposes it to being challenged and, often, to the cost of a second engagement conducted under time pressure.

Mistake 3: neglecting the DEMPE analysis in the case of an intragroup transfer

Transferring or licensing a patent between entities of the same group without documenting the allocation of development, enhancement, maintenance, protection and exploitation functions exposes the company to significant tax reassessment risk, as French and Swiss tax authorities progressively align their audits with the OECD framework. This point is developed in our publications on transfer pricing and the intragroup arm's-length principle and on transfer pricing of intangibles, software royalties, brands and patents.

Mistake 4: ignoring the patent's remaining useful life

A patent close to expiry can only generate future flows over its remaining protection period, which mechanically caps its value regardless of its current commercial performance. Omitting this parameter, or underestimating it, leads to overvaluing an asset whose window of exclusive exploitation is closing, a particularly costly mistake in sectors with fast innovation cycles.

Mistake 5: not anticipating impairment testing after an acquisition

A patent recognized on the balance sheet following an acquisition, as part of a purchase price allocation (PPA), must undergo periodic impairment testing. Failing to plan for this follow-up from the initial valuation, relying on an impairment test compliant with IAS 36 or Swiss GAAP FER 27, exposes the company to having to reconstruct, later, under time pressure and at a higher cost, the entire set of assumptions of the initial valuation.

Case 1: valuing pharmaceutical patents in Switzerland, a CHF 52,000 engagement

Case built for illustrative purposes, based on observed market practice.

Company E SA, a biotechnology company based in the canton of Vaud, is raising a Series B funding round. The prospective institutional investor conditions its entry on an independent valuation of the company's patent portfolio, made up of two titles filed with the European Patent Office and the US USPTO: a patent covering a molecule and a second protecting its manufacturing process.

Hectelion applies the excess profit method to the molecule patent, whose future flows depend on a probability of clinical success, and the Multi-Period Excess Earnings Method to the process patent, whose contribution is assessed by difference against the contributory production assets. A risk-adjusted weighted average cost of capital of 18% is applied, reflecting the clinical development stage of the portfolio, and a DEMPE analysis is conducted in parallel to document the allocation of value between group entities, the company having a research subsidiary distinct from its commercial entity.

The quote comes to CHF 52,000, positioned in the portfolio tier due to the dual international filing and the coordination required between the European and US jurisdictions, for an engagement conducted over ten weeks.

Case 2: exclusive license of a mechanical patent in France, a defensible valuation at EUR 22,000

Case built for illustrative purposes, based on observed market practice.

Company D SAS, an industrial equipment manufacturer based in the Grand Est region, holds a single patent protecting an assembly process already commercially exploited for four years. A European industrial group wishes to negotiate an exclusive license for its own production lines, which requires Company D to hold a defensible valuation of the patent before entering negotiations, otherwise the proposed royalty rate would remain unverifiable for the future licensee.

Hectelion applies the Multi-Period Excess Earnings Method, the patent already being commercially exploited and its future flows directly observable from the margins realized on products incorporating the patented process, with a weighted average cost of capital of 9%, consistent with a mature industrial asset rather than a clinical-stage development.

The quote came to EUR 22,000, within the defensible range for a single patent, the engagement having required an in-depth technical review of the scope of the claims with the company's industrial property counsel. The engagement ran over six weeks, allowing Company D to enter negotiations with a documented royalty rate.

A word from our founder

"The price of a patent valuation is justified first by the amount of data it mobilizes: a technology portfolio, a filing history across several jurisdictions, future flows to model over a useful life that is never infinite."

"We regularly see executives discover, at the moment of a negotiation, that filing their patent gives them no indication of its value. This is a normal confusion until you have faced it, but it becomes costly when it arises under the pressure of a transaction timeline."

"Our role is to provide, upfront, a defensible and transparent figure, whether the engagement serves to prepare a negotiation, document an intragroup transfer, or secure a funding round."

Aristide Ruot, Ph.D.
Founder | CEO, Hectelion SA

FAQ: the 10 essential questions about the price of a patent valuation

Introduction: what to know before the questions

The following questions cover the points most frequently raised by executives, their legal counsel and their finance departments when scoping a patent valuation engagement in France and Switzerland.

Q1: How much does a patent valuation cost?

In 2026, an indicative valuation of a single patent costs between EUR 5,000 and 15,000 (CHF 5,000 to 16,000), a defensible valuation between EUR 15,000 and 35,000 (CHF 16,000 to 38,000), and a portfolio of several patents or an intragroup transfer pricing file from EUR 35,000 (CHF 38,000), with no fixed ceiling. These ranges reflect the market practice observed by Hectelion.

Q2: What is the difference between an indicative valuation and a defensible valuation?

An indicative valuation relies on a single primary method and serves internal use or pre-negotiation. A defensible valuation cross-checks several methods and documents assumptions more thoroughly, for use in a transaction, transmission, contribution in kind, or litigation, which explains a higher quote and a longer timeline.

Q3: Who pays for a patent valuation, the transferor or the acquirer?

In practice, the party that needs the report to secure its position bears the cost: the transferor, when documenting its sale price or contribution, or the acquirer, when commissioning an independent valuation before committing funds. In a funding round, the investor often requires an independent valuation funded by the target company.

Q4: Can the fees for a patent valuation be negotiated?

Yes, provided the scope of the engagement remains precisely defined. Reducing the number of cross-checked methods, limiting the analysis to a single patent rather than an entire portfolio, or preparing part of the document collection oneself, are legitimate negotiation levers that do not affect the defensibility of the report as long as the scope remains consistent with the intended use.

Q5: Are patent valuation fees tax-deductible?

As a general rule, when the engagement relates to the company's operations or a transaction, such as a funding round, an acquisition, or a restructuring, the fees constitute a deductible expense. A special case exists when the valuation accompanies the recognition of the patent on the balance sheet following an acquisition, where the fees may be included in the acquisition cost of the asset rather than expensed in the period; this treatment must be validated case by case with the company's accountant.

Q6: Which method should be used to value a patent?

The excess profit method and the Multi-Period Excess Earnings Method (MEEM) are the primary methods for a patent, chosen depending on whether the asset generates its flows independently or in combination with other contributory assets. These methods are more data-intensive than a relief-from-royalty method, generally used for a brand, which partly explains why a patent sits toward the upper end of the price ranges.

Q7: Does filing with the INPI or the IPI give a patent a value?

No. Filing legally protects the title against infringement; it produces no priced estimate of its economic value. Only an independent valuation, indicative or defensible depending on the intended use, provides that figure.

Q8: How long does a patent valuation take?

An indicative valuation of a single patent takes two to four weeks, a defensible valuation four to eight weeks, and a portfolio or intragroup transfer pricing file eight to fourteen weeks, depending on the number of filing jurisdictions involved.

Q9: Does a patent need to be revalued regularly?

Yes, particularly when the patent sits on the balance sheet following an acquisition and undergoes periodic impairment testing, or when its remaining useful life is significantly shortening. A revaluation is also recommended before any new transaction, license, transfer, or intragroup restructuring, for which the assumptions of the initial valuation may have become outdated.

Q10: What price difference exists between France and Switzerland?

Swiss ranges generally sit above French ranges for an equivalent service level, which reflects the general level of professional fees in the two countries rather than a methodological difference: the method and the degree of documentary rigor remain identical in both jurisdictions for a given report level.

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Launch the valuation simulator for free: the tool is confidential, retains no document, and does not replace a formal patent valuation, but it gives a reliable first order of magnitude on the overall value of the company before discussing it with our team.

Conclusion: a price that reflects the density of the data mobilized

The price of a patent valuation, between EUR 5,000 and 35,000 (CHF 5,000 to 38,000) for a single patent and from EUR 35,000 (CHF 38,000) for a portfolio, is explained less by the intrinsic complexity of the law than by the density of the technical, financial and legal data that the excess profit method or the MEEM must mobilize.

An executive who anticipates the report level required, prepares documentation upfront, and chooses the right time to launch the engagement controls the bulk of the budget. Conversely, confusing the filing of the title with its valuation, undersizing the report relative to its intended use, or discovering an intragroup transfer pricing requirement too late, are the three pitfalls that turn a controlled expense into an unforeseen cost.

For executives considering an operation broader than the patent alone, whether a full business valuation, a financial due diligence, or a purchase price allocation after closing, the valuation of the patent portfolio then fits as one building block among others within an overall pricing exercise.

Article summary

A patent valuation costs, in 2026, between EUR 5,000 and 35,000 (CHF 5,000 to 38,000) for a single patent depending on the level of defensibility required, and from EUR 35,000 (CHF 38,000) with no ceiling for a portfolio or an intragroup transfer pricing file, these ranges reflecting the market practice observed by Hectelion in 2026. The price varies mainly with the number of patents, the level of defensibility required, the technical complexity of the invention, the quality of available data, the number of filing jurisdictions and the urgency of the context, with the excess profit method or the MEEM being more data-intensive than the relief-from-royalty method used for a brand.

Engagements are most often billed at a fixed fee for a single patent and include a time-and-materials component for complex portfolios, with timelines ranging from two weeks for an indicative valuation to fourteen weeks for a multi-jurisdiction file. Five mistakes recur most often: confusing filing with valuation, using an indicative report in a defensible context, neglecting the DEMPE analysis for an intragroup transfer, ignoring the patent's remaining useful life, and not anticipating impairment testing after an acquisition.

The 2026 trends, heightened tax scrutiny under the OECD's BEPS project, the acceleration of preparatory work by artificial intelligence, and the rise of patents linked to artificial intelligence and biotechnology, are reinforcing demand for defensible, documented reports. An executive who prepares documentation, prioritizes key patents, and chooses the right time to launch the engagement controls the bulk of the budget without sacrificing the defensibility of the report.