On November 14, 2017, the USPTO issued and published the final rule, "Setting and Adjusting Patent Fees during Fiscal Year 2017." The final rule set or adjusted certain patent fees, as provided by the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA). This rulemaking is the second iteration of patent fee rulemaking by the USPTO under AIA; the first was January 2013. This rule is effective on January 16, 2018, for patent fees paid on or after January 16, 2018.
The USPTO published a table summarizing the new or adjusted fees, which can be found here. Below summarizes the notable changes in fees.
|
Fee |
Current Large |
Final Rule
Large |
Percentage Change |
|
Utility Patent Application Fees |
|||
|
Utility Filing Fee |
$280 |
$300 |
7% |
|
Utility Search Fee |
$600 |
$660 |
10% |
|
Utility Examination Fee |
$720 |
$760 |
6% |
|
Utility Issue Fee |
|||
|
Utility Issue Fee |
$960 |
$1000 |
4% |
|
Provisional Application Filing |
|||
|
Provisional Application Filing Fee |
$260 |
$280 |
8% |
|
Design Patent Application Fees |
|||
|
Design Filing Fee |
$180 |
$200 |
11% |
|
Design Search Fee |
$120 |
$160 |
33% |
|
Design Examination Fee |
$460 |
$600 |
30% |
|
Design Issue Fee |
|||
|
Design Issue Fee |
$560 |
$700 |
25% |
|
Plant Patent Application Filing Fees |
|||
|
Plant Filing Fee |
$180 |
$200 |
11% |
|
Plant Search Fee |
$380 |
$420 |
11% |
|
Plant Examination Fee |
$580 |
$620 |
7% |
|
Plant Issue Fee |
|||
|
Plant Issue Fee |
$760 |
$800 |
5% |
|
Excess Claim Fees |
|||
|
Each Independent Claim in Excess of Three |
$420 |
$460 |
10% |
|
Each Claim in Excess of 20 |
$80 |
$100 |
25% |
|
Multiple Dependent Claims |
$780 |
%820 |
5% |
|
Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) |
|||
|
Submission of an IDS after First Action on the Merits, before Notice of Allowance |
$180 |
$240 |
33% |
|
Request for Continued Examination (RCE) |
|||
|
RCE - 1st Request |
$1,200 |
$1,300 |
8% |
|
RCE - 2nd and Subsequent Request |
$1,700 |
$1,900 |
12% |
|
Appeal Fees |
|||
|
Notice of Appeal |
$800 |
$800 |
no change |
|
Forwarding an Appeal Brief in an Application or Ex Parte Reexamination Proceeding to the Board |
$2,000 |
$2,240 |
12% |
|
NEW Patent Fees |
|||
|
Ex Parte Reexamination (§ 1.510(a)) Streamlined |
- - |
$6,000 (non-streamlined remains at $12,000) |
- - |
|
Hague International Design Application |
- - |
$120 |
- - |
|
Submission of sequence listing of 300 MB to 800 MB |
- - |
$1,000 |
- - |
|
Submission of sequence listings of more than 800 MB |
- - |
$10,000 |
- - |
|
Late Filing of Sequence Listing |
- - |
$300 |
- |
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
