By Lathrop GPM : jdsupra – excerpt
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published a Final Rule today in the Federal Register, viewable at 85 Fed. Reg. 46932 (August 3, 2020), announcing fee adjustments affecting all aspects of patent practice before the USPTO. The fee adjustments, which will go into effect on October 2, 2020, include an approximately 5% across-the-board increase for all patent fees, except for certain fees specifically targeted for greater adjustments to offset USPTO costs for a variety of strategic reasons.
A primary justification for the USPTO’s increased fees is to provide the USPTO with sufficient financial resources to maintain operation at effective and reliable levels, especially in times of financial fluctuations and economic uncertainly. Even with the COVID-19 pandemic and the corresponding economic downturn, the USPTO has seen a continued increase in patent filings, and predicts further increases over the next five fiscal years. However, patent fee revenues have been down about 1.5% from projections for the current year. The increased fees set forth in the Final Rule will help replenish and grow the patent operating reserve, which will position the USPTO to be able to enhance the country’s innovation ecosystem and undertake important capital improvements, such as continuing to adapt to an ever-increasing technological future and improve inventors’ access to the patent system…
As noted, the USPTO has generally increased all patent-related fees by about 5%…
Additional fees have been targeted for greater adjustments to account for associated increases in USPTO costs and required resources. These targeted fee increases relate to the following aspects of USPTO operation:
- AIA Trial Fees
- Utility and Reissue Issue Fees
- Maintenance Fees
- Requests for Expedited Examination of Design Patent Applications
… (more)
The new fees took effect on October 2, 2020
