Director, Office of Planning and Budget

0651-AD64 202310 The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions 0651 Patent and Trademark Office PTO 0600 Department of Commerce DOC Setting and Adjusting Patent Fees

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or Office) takes this action to set and adjust Patent fee amounts to provide the Office with a sufficient aggregate revenue to recover its aggregate cost of operations thereby maintaining a sustainable funding model. The new fee amounts will provide the Office with additional resources to decrease patent pendency and ensure robust and reliable patents are allowed while continuing to promote access to the patent system for underresourced individuals. This proposal reflects feedback we have received from members of the Patent Public Advisory Committee and the public, including organizations, practitioners, and independent inventors, during a public hearing held on May 18, 2023. As we develop this regulation, we will be seeking additional public comment through the rulemaking process.

]]> Other Significant Previously Published in The Unified Agenda Proposed Rule Stage Undetermined No 37 CFR 1 37 CFR 41 Pub. L. 112-29 Yes

The purpose of this rule is to set and adjust patent fee amounts to provide sufficient aggregate revenue to cover the agency's aggregate cost of operations. To this end, this rule creates new or changes existing fees for patent services, and does so without imposing any new costs.

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The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA), enacted in 2011, provided USPTO with the authority to set and adjust its fees for patent and trademark services. Since then, USPTO has conducted an internal biennial fee review, in which it undertook internal consideration of the current fee structure, and considered ways that the structure might be improved, including rulemaking pursuant to the USPTO's fee setting authority. This fee review process involves public outreach, including, as required by the Act, public hearings held by the USPTO's Public Advisory Committees, as well as public comment and other outreach to the user community and public in general.

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This rulemaking action is currently in development and alternatives have not yet been determined.

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This rulemaking action is currently in development and aggregate annual economic impacts have not yet been determined. The user fees charged by the USPTO for its services are considered transfer payments that do not affect the total resources available to society, and therefore the changes to patent fees being developed by this rulemaking are transfers, and are not costs of this rulemaking. It is anticipated that the final rule would become effective with the new fee schedule in 2024.

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The USPTO will set and adjust Patent fee amounts to provide the Office with a sufficient amount of aggregate revenue to recover its aggregate cost of operations while helping the Office maintain a sustainable funding model, reduce the current patent application backlog, decrease patent pendency, and improve the reliability of issued patents. Therefore, one risk of taking no action could be that USPTO might not be able to recover its aggregate costs of operations in the long run.

]]> Notice of Public Hearing and Request for Comments 04/20/2023 88 FR 24392 Comment Period End 05/25/2023 NPRM 01/00/2024 NPRM Comment Period End 04/00/2024 Final Action 10/00/2024 Final Action Effective 11/00/2024 Yes Businesses Organizations None No No Yes No Brendan Hourigan Director, Office of Planning and Budget 0651 Patent and Trademark Office PTO 571 272-8966 571 273-8966 brendan.hourigan@uspto.gov P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria VA 22313-1450