by Shuyu Wang
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is adjusting patent fees for Fiscal Year 2020. The Final Rule regarding fee adjustment, effective on October 2, 2020, significantly increases the AIA trial fees before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).
According to the Final Rule, the PTAB fees will be increased as follows.
Other than the AIA trial fees, the Final Rule also includes other changes in the existing fees or implementation of new fees. For example, the maintenance fee surcharge will be increased from $160 to $500 to encourage timely maintenance fee payments, which improves the public’s understanding of a patent’s status.
Pro Hac Vice Status
The USPTO also creates a pro hac vice admission fee at $250 to allow counsel who are not registered practitioners to be granted admission in limited circumstances to appear before the PTAB. Along with the fee, once a pro hac vice request is granted, the counsel is admitted for the entire duration of a proceeding, which may extend for several years.
The adjustment is to establish a fee schedule that generates sufficient revenue to recover the costs of maintaining patent-related operations at the USPTO.
For detailed adjustment in patent fees, access the USPTO website: https://www.uspto.gov/about-us/performance-and-planning/summary-fy-2020-final-patent-fee-rule.
