In the latest "Notice of proposed rulemaking" In the, United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Published a set of proposed rules for changing patent fees, These changes will be made2025Effective fiscal year. It is reported, The changes are intended to better align the agency's fee structure with the associated costs required to process patent applications. Some of these proposed fee changes are negligible, however, There are also some notable fee changes, This includes substantial increases in application fees and appeal fees and may affect applicants in the drafting of the application process, New fees for the submission and review phase of the strategy.

Although full details of the proposed fee change scheme can be found at "Federal register" On our website, But there are several important updates about patent fees that interested parties should take note of:

Based on "Age limit" Continuance application (continuing application) To make a claim (benefit claim) Upgrade fee for application

These new fees will apply"Submitted late"Division of cases (DIV) , continue (CON) Sum partial continuation (CIP) Patent application, The actual filing date of these applications is based on "United States Code" The first35ranking120article, 121article, 365articlecA surname386articlecThe earliest filing date for a claim ( "Earliest benefit date" ) On the evening of5Year or8Years or more. For large entities, This cost is respectively2200Dollar sum3500U. S. dollar.

State the cause: The growth in the number of continuation applications has decreased "new" Application review time, In addition, Shorter patent terms result in reduced maintenance costs, Thus reducing the agency's ability to recover its costs.

Impact on practitioners and applicants: This fee may provide an incentive for interested parties to file multiple continuing applications at the same time at an earlier date, Instead of submitting "A series of" The application of. To acquire the technology that has been implemented, Applicants with a large portfolio of applications often put their applications on hold, That may be unlikely to change their approach. Here's another scenario, Due to financial constraints, Many applicants may be reluctant to apply for renewal, This is true even in cases where the agency is at fault during the lengthy review process of the original application.

Apply to participate in the pilot after final consideration (AFCP) Planned additional costs

For this change, USPTOProposed to charge large entities500New fees in dollars, However, there is no guarantee that the application will be approved.

State the cause: popularity (More than half answered after final deliberation) Making the program expensive to run.

Impact on practitioners and applicants: One thing to note, Even with the new fees, The plan (still) Progress to the interview stage is not guaranteed, This could deter applicants from taking advantage of the scheme, This is true even in cases where the official final review notice is objectively flawed. The existence of participation fees, This may result in additional interviews occurring after a non-final review notice. Some applicants may choose to simply "Accept" Allow the scope or continue the application for continuation review, Instead of paying for it.

A new disclosure statement based on the number of referenced information items (IDS) expense

propositionalIDSFee rules include: (1) The number of information items referenced exceeds. Procedure50item, The first fee is charged (The amount is200U. S. dollar) ; (2) The number of information items referenced exceeds. Procedure100Item but not more200item, A second fee is charged (The amount is500U. S. dollar) , Subject to deduction of any payment previously made; (3) The number of information items referenced exceeds. Procedure200item, A third payment is required (The amount is800U. S. dollar) , Any previous payments are also deducted.

State the cause: In the application submitted, There are a few that cite a lot ofIDSreference, But that takes up too much of the agency's resources for review. The agency reiterated, The best practice is for the applicant and the patentee to delete clearly unrelated, Citations that are irrelevant or contain cumulative information to avoid submitting with large amountsIDSThe application of.

Impact on practitioners and applicants: Some applicants may have a better sense of whether a reference can be considered cumulative, Therefore it will not be submitted. however, Some people may not be willing to take any risks, That is, the unsubmitted references may be successfully argued during the proceedings "But with... Relate to" Correlation of, So you may still be inclined to commit a lotIDS.

Increased fees for excessive claims

For large entities, If independence claims exceed3a, Then the excess charges for each claim from400Dollar increase600U. S. dollar. If the claims exceed20a, Then the excess charge for each claim will be from100Dollar increase200U. S. dollar.

State the cause: Help recover costs associated with reviewing additional claims, At the same time, avoid claims based on interests "Age limit" The increase in continuation fees has resulted in an increase in the number of claims. "Based on the agency's proposed rates, If the total number of claims is reached20nuchal2times, There will be an excess claim fee, The fee is equal to the application, The sum of the proposed costs for retrieval and review. In other words, An application that doubles in size (total3An independent claim and40claim) An application fee will be required, The sum of the search fee and examination fee2times.

Impact on practitioners and applicants: This may prompt questions about which claims will be made "Meet the requirements" More scrutiny. Some practitioners may use alternative or in their claims "and/or" Language to reduce the number of claims.

Applicants and practitioners must be kept informed of these proposed fee changes, And note that possible implementation dates are2024years10month1day. Applicants and their lawyers must also plan ahead, To avoid any accidents. (Be compiled fromwww. ipwatchdog. com)

TRANSLATORS: Wang Dan　proofread: Liu Peng



　　disclaimer: This network reprint or compile the original articles are from the network, Does not represent the views of this website or confirm the authenticity of its content. If the source is mislabeled or the copyright of the article is involved, Please contact us, This website will be corrected in due course, delete, thank you.