Recent Changes to USPTO Fees (Hint - They're Going Up!)

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently announced changes to its fee structure, scheduled to take effect on January 16, 2018. The goal of the fee change is for the USPTO to provide sufficient financial resources to facilitate the effective administration of the U.S. intellectual property system. In this article, we will analyze changes to frequently paid fees, and will provide a link to the complete table of patent fees.

Utility Application

Table 1 below shows the fees to file a utility application. The total fee, which includes a filing fee, a search fee, an examination fee and an issue fee, will increase from $2,560 in FY 2017 to $2,720 in FY 2018, a change of 6%. See Table 3 below for changes to excess claims fees.

Fee	Current Large-Entity Rate	Final Rule Large-Entity Rate	Change
Utility Filing Fee	$280	$300	7%
Utility Search Fee	$600	$660	10%
Utility Examination Fee	$720	$760	6%
Utility Issue Fee	$960	$1,000	4%
Total	$2,560	$2,720	6%

Table 1. Fee Structure for a Utility Application Filing (Large Entity)

Small and micro-entity discounts remain available for eligible applicants. Maintenance fee rates remain unchanged for all three stages.

Post-Grant Proceedings: Inter Partes Review (IPR), Post-Grant Review (PGR), and Covered Business Method (CBM)

Table 2 below shows the fees for an IPR request (up by 72%), an IPR post-institution (up by 7%), PGR or CBM request (up by 33%) and PGR or CBM post-institution (up by 22%).

Fee	Current Rate	Final Rule Rate	Change
IPR Request Fee — Up to 20 Claims	$9,000	$15,500	72%
IPR Post-Institution Fee —€“ Up to 15 Claims	$14,000	$15,000	7%
PGR or CBM Review Request Fee —€“ Up to 20 Claims	$12,000	$16,000	33%
PGR or CBM Review Post-Institution Fee —€“ Up to 15 Claims	$18,000	$22,000	22%

Table 2. Fee Structure for IPRs, PGRs and CBMs

According to the USPTO, the increase is based on two years of historical cost data and better aligns fees with costs, while enabling the PTAB to accomplish its mission.

Certain Frequently Paid Fees

Table 3 below shows changes to certain frequently paid fees — excess claims fees (up between 5% and 25%), IDS fees (up by 33%), RCE fees (up between 8% and 12%), and ex parte appeal fees (up by 12%). No changes to fees for extensions of time have been set forth.

Fee	Current Large-Entity Rate	Final Rule Large-Entity Rate	Change
Each Independent Claim in Excess of Three	$420	$460	10%
Each Claim in Excess of 20	$80	$100	25%
Multiple Dependent Claim	$780	$820	5%
Submission of an Information Disclosure Statement after First Action on the Merits (FAOM), before Notice of Allowance	$180	$240	33%
Request for Continued Examination (RCE) —€“ 1st Request	$1,200	$1,300	8%
Request for Continued Examination (RCE) —€“ 2nd and Subsequent Request	$1,700	$1,900	12%
Notice of Appeal	$800	$800	0%
Forwarding an Appeal in an Application or Ex Parte Reexamination Proceeding to the Board	$2,000	$2,240	12%

Table 3. Fee Structure for Excess Claims, IDS, RCE and Appeal

Design Application

Table 4 below shows the fees to file a design application. The total fee, which includes a filing fee, a search fee, an examination fee and an issue fee, will increase from $1,320 in FY 2017 to $1,660, a change of 26%.

Fee	Current Large-Entity Rate	Final Rule Large-Entity Rate	Percent Change
Design Filing Fee	$180	$200	11%
Design Search Fee	$120	$160	33%
Design Examination Fee	$460	$600	30%
Design Issue Fee	$560	$700	25%
Total	$1,320	$1,660	26%

Table 4. Fee Structure for a Design Patent Application Filing (Large Entity)

The USPTO explained that, under the current fee structure, the USPTO does not fully recover the costs incurred for processing design patent applications, in part because design patents do not pay maintenance fees, and the majority of applicants utilize small- and micro-entity fee reductions.

Plant Application

Table 5 below shows the fees to file a plant application. The total fee, which includes a filing fee, a search fee, an examination fee and an issue fee, will increase from $1,900 in FY 2017 to $2,040, a change of 7%.

Fee	Current Large-Entity Rate	Final Rule Large-Entity Rate	Change
Plant Filing Fee	$180	$200	11%
Plant Search Fee	$380	$420	11%
Plant Examination Fee	$580	$620	7%
Plant Issue Fee	$760	$800	5%
Total	$1,900	$2,040	7%

Table 5. Fee Structure for a Plant Patent Application Filing (Large Entity)

The USPTO explained that the reason for the increase in the plant patent application fees is the same as for the increase in the design patent application fees.

A detailed listing of the fee structure, which shows the increase in fees as well as the fee structures that have not changed, can be found here.

We constantly monitor such releases from the USPTO, which, while administrative in nature, have significant impact on our clients. If you have any questions or if we can be of any assistance in this important area, please contact us.

Sushil Iyer: [email protected], 214-760-6141

Alycia Morell: [email protected], 612-766-2053