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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.

Statement of Need:

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.

Summary of the Legal Basis:

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.

Alternatives:

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

Anticipated Costs and Benefits:

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.

Risks:

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.