Which Significant USPTO Fee Increases Might We See In 2025?

If the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is going to implement fee changes in January 2025, we should see a Federal Register Notice detailing the proposed fees soon. The USPTO started this round of fee-setting in April 2023, publishing its initial proposed fee schedule and supporting information for consideration by the Patent Public Advisory Committee (PPAC). The PPAC's feedback on the proposed fee changes may provide insight as to which new fees are likely to be implemented and which may be shelved.

The USPTO Fee-Setting Process

The USPTO fee-setting process is a multi-step process that requires input from the PPAC, a public hearing, and a public notice and comment period. The fee changes that took effect in October 2020 began their journey in August 2018, with a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) issued in July 2019 and the final fees published in August 2020. If the USPTO is going to implement fee adjustments in January 2025, it is leaving much less