2019-15727: Setting and Adjusting Patent Fees During Fiscal Year 2020

Summary

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office or USPTO) proposes to set or adjust patent fees as authorized by the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (Act or AIA), as amended by the Study of Underrepresented Classes Chasing Engineering and Science Success Act of 2018 (SUCCESS Act). The USPTO is a business-like operation where the demand for patent products and services and the cost of our operations are affected by external factors, such as the economy, legislation, court decisions, and increases in the costs of supplies and contract services, as well as internal factors, such as changes in patent examination processes and procedures. The proposed fee adjustments are needed to provide the Office with a sufficient amount of aggregate revenue to recover the aggregate cost of patent operations in future years (based on current projections) and to allow the Office to continue progress towards achieving strategic goals.

The agency’s own summary, as published.

What this changes

Amends 4 parts of the Code of Federal Regulations — the standing rules this notice rewrites.

• 37 CFR 1 Rules of Practice in Patent Cases
• 37 CFR 11 Representation of Others Before the United States Patent and Trademark Office
• 37 CFR 41 Practice Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board
• 37 CFR 42 Trial Practice Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board