USPTO Increases Fees, More Fee Adjustments to Come

On October 5, 2012, the USPTO implemented a modest fee increase. See here. The previous USPTO fee schedule had been in effect since September 26, 2011.

The USPTO is also contemplating a more comprehensive fee adjustment based on the AIA. The proposed (not final) fees were published on September 6, 2012. See here. Of the contemplated fee adjustments, the large entity fees for a utility patent application are increasing by approximately 27%, while the large entity issue fee is decreasing by approximately 46%. However, the three maintenance fees are increasing by approximately 43%. These further fee adjustments are expected to be implemented before the first-to-file crossover date of March 16, 2013.