Small-Business Patent Fee Discount Rules Would Ease Under Plan

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office wants to make it easier for individual inventors, small businesses, and nonprofits to get a patent fee discount, even if they’ve licensed their inventions to the government.

The PTO has proposed clarifying and expanding exceptions to a rule governing patent holders that may be eligible for small entity status. Such patent holders would be able pay reduced patent fees if they license their technology to the government under the proposed rule change, according to the Trump administration’s regulatory agenda published May 22.

Any inventor, small business, or nonprofit is now disqualified from getting a ...