The US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) issued its final rule setting and adjusting patent fees that will take effect on January 19, 2025. 89 Fed. Reg. 91898 (Nov. 20, 2024).
The final rule sets or adjusts 433 patent fees for undiscounted, small, and micro entities, including the introduction of 52 new fees. The fee adjustments are grouped into three categories:
- Across-the-board adjustment to patent fees.
- Adjustment to front-end fees.
- Targeted fees.
Fees not covered by the targeted adjustments will increase by approximately 7.5%. Front-end fees to obtain a patent (i.e., filing, search, examination, and issue fees) are set to increase by an additional 2.5% on top of the 7.5% across-the-board adjustment. Targeted adjustments include increasing fees related to continuing applications, design patent applications, filing excess claims, extensions of time for provisional applications, information disclosure statement sizes, patent term adjustments, patent term extensions, requests for continued examinations, suspension of actions, terminal disclaimers, unintentional delay petitions, and Requests for Director Review of a Patent Trial & Appeal Board decision.
More information, including the new fee schedule, is available on the PTO's website.
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