USPTO Announces Significant Changes in Fees for 2025
11/21/24
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has announced significant changes to the patent fee schedule which will take effect on January 19, 2025. The changes include new or significant increases to several targeted fees, a 10% increase to all filing fees, and an approximately 7.5% increase to all other patent fees not covered by those targeted adjustments.
Patent applicants should be aware of the proposed changes and in particular to the targeted adjustments beyond 7.5% which may impact patent protection strategies. Applicants are recommended to consider filing new or continuing applications and other prosecution documents which are affected by the increased fees before the changes are set to take effect to take advantage of cost-saving strategies.
Several of the targeted increases of which applicants should be aware are described below.
Targeted Increases Impacting Patent Filings
- For continuation applications that claim priority to an earlier filing date that is more than 6 years prior or more than 9 years prior, the USPTO has added a new filing fee on top of the ordinary filing, search, and examination fees due at filing. Applications which claim priority to a date between 6 and 9 years prior will be charged an additional $2,700 for undiscounted entities. For applications which claim priority to a date more than 9 years prior, an additional $4,000 will be charged.
- Applicants filing design patent applications will see a significant increase in combined fees. The combined total of filing fees, search fees, examination fees, and issue fees for a design patent is set to increase from $1,760 to $2,600 for undiscounted entities.
- Where non-provisional applications are filed with more than 20 claims, the USPTO has proposed a 100% increase to the fee (increasing to $200 for each excess claim). Where the application is filed with more than three independent claims, the USPTO has proposed a 25% increase (increasing to $600 for each excess claim).
Targeted Increases Impacting Prosecution
- The USPTO also announced surcharges for filing Information Disclosure Statements (IDS) based on the cumulative number of applicant-provided items submitted to the USPTO. For applications with 50 to 100 references, applicants will be charged $200; for 101 to 200 references, applicants will be charged $500; and for more than 201 references, applicants will be charged $800.
- Applicants who choose to continue prosecution where a final office action has been mailed will also see an increase in fees. For applicants submitting a first request for continued examination (RCE), a marginal 10% increase in fee has been announced (increased to $1,500). However, for those applications where a second or subsequent RCE is filed, applicants will be charged a fee having a 43% increase (increased to $2,860).
As the new fees are set to take effect in approximately two months, stakeholders are encouraged to review their portfolios, pending deadlines, and potential new applications in advance of the deadline. Should upcoming deadlines be potentially affected by increased fees, applicants may wish to expedite filings before January 19, 2025 to avoid the higher fees.
Please contact the author or any member of Bodman’s Patent Practice Group for more information on securing patent protection and developing comprehensive patent strategies. Bodman cannot respond to your questions or receive information from you without establishing an attorney-client relationship and clearing potential conflicts with other clients. Thank you for your patience and understanding.