| PCT, International Applications |
Referenced Items (393, 394, 395, 396, 397, 398, 399, 400, 401, 402, 403, 404, 405, 406, 407, 408, 409, 410, 411, 412, 413, 414, 415, 416, 417) |
(394) Interim Reduction of Certain Fees Paid to the USPTO In Its Capacity as an
International Searching Authority or International Preliminary Examination
Authority Under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
Summary
In response to the enactment of the Unleashing American Innovators Act
of 2022 on December 29, 2022, reducing most small and micro entity fees,
the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) temporarily reduced
the amounts of certain Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) fees appearing in
the USPTO fee schedule and in the USPTO patent electronic filing system
prior to the fee reduction taking effect under the PCT. To prevent any
potential harm to applicants that might result from the temporary
reduction, the USPTO is using its authority under 35 U.S.C. 376(b) to
accept payment of certain small and micro entity fees paid to the USPTO in
its capacity as an International Search Authority (ISA) or International
Preliminary Examining Authority (IPEA) in a reduced amount where such fee
was paid between December 29, 2022, and January 17, 2023, inclusive, or
where the applicant pays or paid such fee in the reduced amount in response
to a USPTO notice requiring the reduced fee.
Discussion
Most small and micro entity fees decreased with the enactment of the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, which included the Unleashing
American Innovators Act of 2022, signed into law on December 29, 2022. The
law increased most small entity discounts from 50 percent to 60 percent and
micro entity discounts from 75 percent to 80 percent. The effective date of
these changes was December 29, 2022. Consequently, small and micro entity
fees indicated in the USPTO fee schedule and in Patent Center/EFS-Web were
immediately revised. However, certain of the revised PCT fees required by
the USPTO in its capacity as an ISA or IPEA require two months advance
notification to the Director General of the World Intellectual Property
Organization before the revised fees can take effect. These fees are: the
search fee (37 CFR 1.445(a)(2)), supplemental search fee (37 CFR
1.445(a)(3)), late sequence listing furnishing fee (37 CFR 1.445(a)(5) and
37 CFR 1.482(c)), preliminary examination fee (37 CFR 1.482(a)(1)), and
additional preliminary examination fee (37 CFR 1.482(a)(2)). On January 18,
2023, these PCT fees were reverted back to their pre-December 29, 2022,
amounts in the USPTO fee schedule and in the USPTO patent electronic filing
system. The USPTO published a final rule on March 22, 2023, updating the
fee amounts appearing under Title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations,
including updates to these PCT fees. See Reducing Patent Fees for Small
Entities and Micro Entities Under the Unleashing American Innovators Act of
2022, 88 FR 17147 (March 22, 2023).
For applicants who paid any of the above-mentioned PCT fees in the
reduced amount between December 29, 2022, and January 17, 2023, inclusive,
or who paid or pay such fees in the reduced amount in response to a USPTO
notice requiring such fees in the reduced amount, the USPTO will accept
payment of such fees in the reduced amount as payment of the required
amount pursuant to the authority granted to the Director under 35 U.S.C.
376(b).
Contact information
You can direct any inquiries concerning this notice to Boris Milef,
International Patent Legal Administration, at 571-272-3288 or
Boris.Milef@uspto.gov.
May 23, 2023 KATHERINE K. VIDAL
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and
Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
[1511 OG 122]
Top of Notices (394) December 26, 2023