What Is a “Matter” in Alt Legal? A Simpler, More Transparent Approach to IP Docketing
Alt Legal Team | March 27, 2026
When you’re evaluating IP docketing software, one question can have a big impact on both usability and cost: How does the platform define a “matter”?
IP docketing software providers define “matters” in different ways, and those definitions can significantly affect how quickly your portfolio appears to grow within the system and, correspondingly, how the cost to you vastly increases. For example, some providers classify each trademark and client as a matter, meaning one trademark filing amounts to two matters. This model penalizes firms that work with many small businesses.
However, with Alt Legal, this is not the case. Whether you have 1 trademark each with 1,000 different companies or manage one company that has 1,000 trademarks, the cost will be the same to you. We believe the definition of a “matter” should be clear, predictable, and directly tied to the size of your IP portfolio, not inflated by administrative records or supporting data. This allows us to keep subscription costs fair, reflecting the actual size of your portfolio.
How Alt Legal Defines a Matter
In Alt Legal, a “matter” is a unique intellectual property (IP) record docketed within the system. Each individual IP right is treated as a single matter, whether the record is active or inactive.
Examples of matters include:
- Trademarks
- Patents
- Copyrights
- Designs
- Disputes
- Domains
- Custom matter types created by users
Each of these records represents one matter, regardless of jurisdiction or stage in the lifecycle.
This straightforward approach ensures that the number of matters in your account accurately reflects the contents of your IP portfolio. We do not count as “matters” elements that are simply part of your account or associated with an existing IP record, like forms or administrative data tied to a matter. This helps prevent unnecessary matter inflation and ensures your pricing tier reflects your actual portfolio size, not supporting information.
What Does Not Count as a Matter
Many docketing systems count a wide range of related records as separate matters. Alt Legal takes a different approach.
The following do not count toward your matter total:
- Users (internal and external) and parties to matters (e.g. plaintiffs and defendants)
- Deadlines, reminders, and goods and services classifications
- Forms
- Administrative data tied to a matter
These elements are simply part of your account or associated with an existing IP record, not separate matters. This ensures your pricing tier reflects your actual portfolio size, not supporting information.
Reference-Only Records
In some situations, you may want to store information in Alt Legal without creating a fully docketed matter. For these cases, the platform allows you to maintain reference-only records.
Reference-only records allow you to capture important information without counting it toward your total number of matters.
For example:
- Madrid Protocol designations can be stored as reference-only records rather than separate matters.
- Certain dispute properties may also be tracked as reference-only information.
Only fully docketed matters with a detail page are counted for billing purposes.
This flexibility allows you to store helpful information while keeping your matter count aligned with your core portfolio.
Why This Matters for Pricing
Alt Legal subscription tiers are based solely on the number of docketed matters in your portfolio.
Because we define matters clearly and consistently, without counting contacts, entries, or administrative records, your matter total grows only when your IP portfolio grows.
The result is:
- More predictable pricing
- Greater transparency
- No discrimination whether you have many small clients or a few clients with large IP portfolios
- Lower costs compared to systems that inflate matter counts
In short, Alt Legal’s definition of a matter ensures that your subscription tier accurately reflects the IP you manage, not the supporting data around it.
Clear Definitions, Fair Pricing
At Alt Legal, we believe docketing software should be transparent and easy to understand. By defining matters in a clear and consistent way, we help firms and companies manage their portfolios without worrying about unexpected pricing increases.
Your matter count should reflect your IP assets, not system complexity.
If your firm or organization is looking for a smarter, more cost-effective way of managing your IP, check out some of Alt Legal’s pricing tiers here. Also, you can schedule a demo today and see how Alt Legal can support your practice while fitting into your budget.