Patent Office Reduces Application, Other Fees for Small Entities

The US Patent and Trademark Office will cut patent fees for small and micro-entities, implementing a law enacted in December.

Through a final rule set to publish in the Federal Register on Wednesday, the PTO is increasing discounts for fees related to filing, searching, examining, issuing, appealing, and maintaining patent applications and patents.

The new discount for small entities—inventors, small businesses, and non-profits who haven’t given up rights to the inventions to larger entities—will be 60% of the generally applicable rate. For micro-entities—small entities that haven’t been named on more than four patent applications and meet an income cap—the discount ...