| Fees and Payment of Money |
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(114) DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
[Docket No. PTO-P-2017-0039]
Cash Payment Method Will No Longer Be Accepted
AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will no
longer accept cash, including coins, as payment for products and services
for which fees are required.
DATES: Applicable Date: November 1, 2017.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew Lee, Director, Receipts Accounting
Division, Office of Finance, by email at matthew.lee@uspto.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Effective November 1, 2017, the USPTO will no
longer accept cash, including coins, as payment for products and services
for which fees are required. This change is being made to streamline the
administrative fee collection process and is in accordance with the
Department of the Treasury's policy on agencies adopting a no-cash policy.
See https://tfm.fiscal.treasury.gov/v1/bull/17-12.pdf. There is no
requirement that the USPTO accept cash payments. See, e.g., 37 CFR 1.23.
The USPTO's total net revenue for the last three fiscal years exceeded
$3.0 billion each year, and the cash payment method collections averaged
less than $14,000 each year. In fiscal year (FY) 2016, the cash payment
method comprised less than $11,000, which represented less than 0.0004
percent of total net revenue collections. Furthermore, the USPTO processed
over 4.95 million total fee transactions in FY 2016, and only 55 patent
fees totaling under $5,000, and eleven trademark fees totally under $4,000,
were paid by cash.
The only other fees collected by cash in FY 2016 were about $1,500 in
copying fees. The current self-service copiers are to be discontinued as
part of Office plans to enter a "No Cost" contract with a vendor who will
keep all payments collected in exchange for providing this service. See
Setting and Adjusting Patent Fees During Fiscal Year 2017, 81 FR 68150,
68168 (Oct. 3, 2016) (proposed rule).
For the past three years, the overwhelming majority of fees have been
paid to the USPTO using a payment method other than cash, and the costs of
handling, safeguarding, auditing, transporting, and depositing of cash
payments greatly outweigh the benefits of continuing to accept the cash
payment method.
While the USPTO will no longer accept the cash payment method on or
after November 1, 2017, payments will continue to be accepted in-person
and by mail when made by check or money order, credit/debit card, or
deposit account. Payment of fees attempted with cash will be refused and
returned. More information about all accepted payment methods is available
at https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/fees-and-payment/accepted-
payment-methods.
September 25, 2017 JOSEPH D. MATAL
Performing the Functions and Duties of the
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and
Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
[1443 OG 268]
Top of Notices (114) December 31, 2019