Entrepreneurs / Small Business  September 30, 2016

Patent and trademark office proposing fee increases

The U.S Patent and Trademark Office on Friday announced it is proposing to raise fees associated with certain patent applications in order to recover costs of the patent office’s operations, its trial and appeal board, and administrative services.

The last fee hike was in 2013.

The office conducted a fee review in 2015 that resulted in these proposed fee hikes:

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Large entity utility filing, search and examination fee rates would increase to $300, (+$20), $660 (+$60), and $760 (+$40) respectively. Small- and micro-entity discounts remain available.

Large entity design filing, search and examination fee rates are proposed to increase to $200 (+$20), $160 (+$40), and $600 (+$140). Design patents do not pay maintenance fees, and the majority of design applicants are eligible for small- and micro-entity fee reductions.

The large entity fee for the first request to continue an examination is proposed to increase to $1,300 (+$100). The large entity fee for a second and subsequent request to continue an examination is proposed to increase to $1,900 (+$200).

Increases to trial fees range from $2,500 to $5,000 for challenging the validity of a U.S. patent, and a $4,000 increase for trials challenging business-methods patents, challenging a competitor’s patent, or strengthening a patent already granted.

The patent office is accepting comments on the proposed fee hikes via email at fee.setting@uspto.gov or www.regulations.gov.

The U.S Patent and Trademark Office on Friday announced it is proposing to raise fees associated with certain patent applications in order to recover costs of the patent office’s operations, its trial and appeal board, and administrative services.

The last fee hike was in 2013.

The office conducted a fee review in 2015 that resulted in these proposed fee hikes:

Large entity utility filing, search and examination fee rates would increase to $300, (+$20), $660 (+$60), and $760 (+$40) respectively. Small- and micro-entity discounts remain available.

Large entity design filing, search and examination fee rates are proposed to increase to $200 (+$20), $160 (+$40),…

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