New US Patent Office Fees Announced
Yesterday, the USPTO released a final rule setting the new fee schedule that will take effect on January 19, 2025. Thankfully, as others predicted last month, the final rule doesn’t include many of the controversial changes that were proposed earlier this year. However, there are a couple of new fees that patent applicants will want to take into consideration.
Continuations and Divisionals: The patent office will now charge an additional fee for continuing applications (i.e., continuations, divisionals and CIPs) based on the age of the earliest application in the patent family. The fee is $2,700 / $4,000 for a new application filed more than 6 / 9 years from the earliest claimed benefit date. Standard discounts apply for small (60%) and micro (80%) entity status.
Information Disclosure Statement (IDS): There’s also a new fee based on the total number of references submitted in an application. If an IDS causes the total number of applicant-provided references to exceed 50 / 100 / 200, there will be an additional fee of $200 / $500 / $800. Again, standard discounts apply for small (60%) and micro (80%) entity status.
The final rule also increases several existing fees. Some of the increases are relatively modest, but there are significant increases for design applications, excess claims, second RCEs, and some other items that are routinely encountered by many patent applicants.
For more details and analysis of the USPTO’s new fee schedule, here are some additional resources:
- Final Rule At-A-Glance (USPTO’s summary of all fee changes)
- IP Watchdog article
- Patently-O article (paywall)
- Law360 article (paywall)
The Patently-O article notes that some of the new fees and increases might be challenged in court — “the key purpose of such an action would be to postpone implementation of the fees in order to allow a Trump-appointed director to reconsider their application.” So it’s possible that some of these changes could be delayed or modified. Stay tuned!
Innovating in the University Setting: Will Public Disclosures Affect My Invention’s Patentability?
Many academic researchers are generally aware that their own public disclosures, in the form of conference presentations, journal publications, etc., can impact their ability to secure patent rights for their inventions. In particular, a researcher’s public disclosures can become prior art that can be used to reject their own patent applications.
That said, if you’re working in a university or research institution setting, you may encounter situations where it’s unclear if an invention has already been publicly disclosed, or worse, situations that are setting up your invention to be unintentionally disclosed. In this blog post, my colleague Sam Udovich discusses the potential ways you might encounter prior art in the university setting.
Can Software User Interfaces Be Patented?
When discussing patent protection for software innovations, many people often think in terms of automation or production — that is, what useful actions or output the software can produce. While it’s important to invest in patenting these aspects of your software, it’s also critical to consider IP protection for user interface components. In fact, an innovative user interface that delivers a seamless and effective user experience can be one of the most valuable aspects of your software and your IP portfolio.
Because user interfaces can significantly inform your software’s overall user experience, you’ll want to develop a robust intellectual property strategy around them. In this blog post, my colleague Bryan Candelario explores the case for using patents to protect your software user interface innovations.
Virtual and Augmented Reality: An Overview of the Patent Landscape
Apple’s release of the Vision Pro earlier this year showed that Apple is betting big on the importance of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies in the future. And they’re not alone. According to a report published by Verified Market Research, the global market size for AR/VR is now projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 31.70% from 2024 to 2031.
So, what changed and what does this mean moving forward? In a new article, we take a closer look at the patent landscape for VR and AR and discuss where future growth might occur.
Michael K. Henry, Ph.D.
Michael K. Henry, Ph.D., is a principal and the firm’s founding member. He specializes in creating comprehensive, growth-oriented IP strategies for early-stage tech companies.