The U.S. Patent Office Announces New Rates to be in Force on March 19, 2013

Canadian inventors and companies will soon feel one of the many effects of the patent law reform in the United States: the famous “America Invents Act”.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has just published a new fee schedule for patent applications and patents, which will come into force on March 19, 2013.

The new law gives more latitude to the Patent Office to set different prices related to patent applications and patents in order to cover transaction costs and improve the quality of its services. As predicted, most of the fees will increase (filing fees, maintenance fees, requests for continuation of examination, appeals). Some of these increases are quite substantial, and will have a significant impact on the costs associated with obtaining and maintaining a patent in the United States. However, it should be noted that the fees associated with the issuance of a patent will be reduced (starting in January 2014), and a reduction of 75% on most fees is now available for “micro entities“, which include universities.

Small and large companies who are preparing to file a patent application soon in the U.S. are encouraged to do so quickly, before mid-March, in order to take advantage of the current rates. More details on the new fee schedule on the USPTO website. These changes affect fees charged by the USPTO, but not our fees.