Long Delayed Fee Increase Hits January 16th
Section 10 of the Leahy‐Smith America Invents Act (AIA) authorizes the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to, in part, "set or adjust by rule any fee established, authorized, or charged" under Title 35 of the United States Code. At the close of 2016, a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) issued requesting comments from the public on proposed fee increases for post-grant patent proceedings, including AIA trials. A Final Rule Notice issued today setting significant increases to take effect on January 16th 2018 for AIA Trial Proceedings.
The final rule is found (here).
As to differences between the NPRM, Final Rule Notice, and current fees, a summary table is provided below:
| Fee | Final Rule Large Entity Rate |
Percent Change (NPRM to Final Rule) |
Percent Change (Current to Final Rule) |
| Inter Partes Review Request | $15,500 | +11% | 72% |
| Inter Partes Review Post-Institution | $15,000 | -9% | 7% |
| PGR/CBM Request | $16,000 | 0% | 33% |
| PGR/CBM post-Institution | $22,000 | 0% | 22% |
As can be appreciated, fees are up significantly, with some minor variations from the original proposal. The proposed increase for AIA trials is largely unchanged from the original proposal. (Note: the final rule shifts $1500 to the IPR request fee that was previously proposed as part of the IPR institution fee increase).
Filings made before January 16th will not be subject to the increase.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
