Reduced "Micro Entity" Government Fees Available For Certain Patent Applicants

Intellectual Property - AIA Series

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has established rules and a fee schedule providing a 75% "micro entity" discount for many fees to be paid in patents and patent applications. The new rules and fee schedule implement a provision of the America Invents Act (AIA) establishing micro-entity status.

There are two ways in which to establish micro-entity status. Both require, as a threshold matter, that the case qualify for the existing small-entity status. That is, if a case does not qualify for small-entity status, there is no way to seek micro-entity status.

The first way, under paragraph (a) of the new rule, is that all of the following conditions must be satisfied individually for each applicant, inventor, and joint inventor: