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ARTICLE · 20 NOVEMBER 2025

New Continuation Fee Among 2025 USPTO Changes Impacting Biotech

Polsinelli PC
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The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has implemented a Continuation Application Fee (CAF) for certain continuing applications filed more than six or nine years after their earliest benefit date.

United StatesIntellectual Property
Michelle McMullen, Ph.D.
Michelle McMullen, Ph.D.
Rebecca McFadyen, Ph.D.
Rebecca McFadyen, Ph.D.

Key Takeaways:

  • The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has implemented a Continuation Application Fee (CAF) for certain continuing applications filed more than six or nine years after their earliest benefit date.
  • Biotech and life sciences applications, particularly in Art Unit 1600, are more likely to trigger the fee due to long pendency and continuation-heavy strategies. If the CAF isn't paid on time, priority claims may be silently lost, with no notice from the USPTO.
  • Practitioners and applicants should closely review the timing of any planned or recently filed continuations to preserve the full priority claim.

A series of procedural changes at the USPTO is influencing strategy for biotech and life sciences applicants. Over the past year, the agency introduced two new fees and launched a streamlined examination pilot, each with implications for how and when applications are filed. This alert focuses on the newly implemented CAF, which may pose

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