PTO Proposes Changes to Patent Fees

The Patent and Trademark Office sought comment Friday on a rulemaking to adjust several patent fees to cover changes in the cost of PTO patent operations, Patent Trial and Appeal Board operations and administrative services. The NPRM follows PTO's study last year of existing patent fees. The office last raised fees in 2013. Proposed fee hikes include rises in costs associated with large entities' utility and design patent applications and those entities' requests for re-examination of a patent application, PTO said in a notice to be published in Monday's Federal Register. PTAB trial fees would also rise, with some fees associated with board trials rising by up to $5,000. The NPRM also would restructure some service fees and expand entities' ability to qualify for a discount, the PTO said. The office said it plans to use the additional revenue to fund PTAB's increased workload, maintain momentum for efforts to decrease PTO's backlog of pending applications and increase the office's reserve balance. Comments are due Dec. 2.