Alerts

Important Update: USPTO Fee Changes Effective January 2025

January 10, 2025

Highlights

Patent fees will increase across most categories, including filing, maintenance, and excess claims, on Jan. 19, 2025

New surcharges will apply to continuations filed six or nine years after the earliest benefit date (EBD); PTAB petitions will experience increases across the board

Trademark fees also will see adjustment including a unified application fee that will replace the TEAS Plus/Standard system, as well as others. Additional surcharges will apply for missing information, custom descriptions, and lengthy filings.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is set to increase fees beginning Jan. 19, 2025, for patent-related fees and Jan. 18, 2025, for trademark-related fees as part of routine updates at the USPTO to maintain alignment with operational costs and resource requirements. Tables that summarize targeted fee increases for the most common types of filings with the USPTO are included below. A global 7.5 percent increase is being applied to all filings that do not have a targeted fee increase.

Patent-Related Fees*		Current Fee	Fee Effective 1/19/2025	Percentage Increase
Filing Fees
	Utility Patent Application Fees	$1,820	$2,000	10%
	Utility patent application issue fees	$1,200	$1,290	7.5%
	Design patent application fees	$1,020	$1,300	27%
	Design patent issue fees	$740	$1,300	76%
Claim Fees
	Each independent claim in excess of 3	$480	$600	25%
	Each claim in excess of 20	$100	$200	100%
Request for Continued Examination (REC) Fees
	First RCE	$1,360	$1,500	10%
	Second and subsequent RCE	$2,000	$2,860	43%
New Continuing Application Surcharge
	Applications filed six (6) years or more after the earliest benefit date		$2,700
	Applications filed nine (9) years or more after the earliest benefit date		$4,000
Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) and IDS Size Fees**
	IDS filing fee	$260	$280	8%
	IDS with 51 to 100 items of information		$200
	IDS with 101 to 200 items of information		$500 less any amount previously paid
	IDS with more than 200 items of information		$800 less any amount previously paid
Terminal Disclaimer Fees
	Filing of Terminal Disclaimer	$170	$183	8%
Maintenance Fees
	Fee due at 3.5 years	$2,000	$2,150	8%
	Fee due at 7.5 years	$3,760	$4,040	7%
	Fee due at 11.5 years	$7,700	$8,280	8%
Patent Term Extension (PTE) Applications Fees**
	Application for PTE fee	$1,180	$2,500	112%
	Initial Application for interim extension fee	$440	$1,320	200%
	Request of a supplemental redetermination after a notice of final PTE determination		$1,440
Petition Fees
	Petition Associated with Unintentional Delay of More Than 2 Years	$2,100	$3,000	43%
Patent Trials and Appeals Board (PTAB) Fees
	Request of Review of PTAB Decision by Director Fees		$452
	Petition for PTAB			25% increase for all PTAB trials

Created by Barnes & Thornburg

*Key adjustments are shown below for undiscounted (large) entity fees; small entities generally receive a 60 percent discount and micro entities generally receive a 75 percent discount on these undiscounted fees.
**Fee applies to all entities with no discounts being given to small or micro entities.

Trademark-Related Fees		Current Fee	Fee Effective 1/18/2025	Percentage Increase
Application and Registration Fees
	Unified Base Application Fees, per class*		$350
	Intent-to-Use Applications (Statements of Use and Amendments to Allege Use) Fees, per class	$100	$150	50%
	Madrid Protocol Applications (Application fee filed with WIPO (Section 66(a))), per class	$500	$600	20%
Post-Registration Maintenance Fees
	Section 8 Declarations (filed between the 5th and 6th year after registration)	$225 per class	$325 per class	45%
	Section 9 Renewals (filed every 10 years)	$300 per class	$325 per class	8%
	Section 15 Declarations (Declaration of Incontestability)	$200 per class	$250 per class	25%
	Section 71 Declarations	$225 per class	$325 per class	45%
	Renewal fee filed at WIPO	$300 per class	$325 per class	8%
Petitions
	Petition to the Director Fee	$250	$400	60%
	Petition to Revive an Application Fee	$150	$250	67%
	Letter of Protest Fee	$50	$150	300%

Created by Barnes & Thornburg

*The distinction between TEAS Plus and TEAS Standard applications will be eliminated and a single base application fee of $350 per class will apply to applications under Trademark Act Sections 1 and 44.

New surcharges will also be in effect for each of:

Insufficient Information: A $100 fee per class will be charged for applications lacking required details, such as the applicant's name, domicile address, or entity type.
Custom Identifications: Using custom descriptions for goods or services instead of selecting from the USPTO's ID Manual will incur a $200 fee per class.
Excessive Text Length: An additional $200 fee per class will apply for each set of 1,000 characters exceeding the initial 1,000 characters in custom descriptions.

For patent applications, we suggest considering a comprehensive review of your portfolio, at least with respect to each of the following:

Continuation applications that would have benefit dates of more than six or nine years
Information Disclosure Statements with over 50 cumulative prior art listings
Second or subsequent RCEs
Design patent applications

With respect to trademarks, those looking to file new applications with long or unusual descriptions of goods and services may consider filing these applications before the fees for using free-form text boxes and additional characters go into place.

Takeaways

If you are planning to file a new patent or trademark application, submit a renewal, or pay maintenance fees in the near future, it may be advantageous to do so before Jan. 19, 2025, or Jan. 18, 2025, respectively, to take advantage of the current fee structure before the increases take effect.

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This Barnes & Thornburg LLP publication should not be construed as legal advice or legal opinion on any specific facts or circumstances. The contents are intended for general informational purposes only, and you are urged to consult your own lawyer on any specific legal questions you may have concerning your situation.

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