The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently proposed a new fee structure for fiscal year 2025, which includes significant increases in various patent fees. One proposed change regards the introduction of new fees for continuation applications. If an applicant files a continuation application more than five years after the earliest claimed priority or benefit date, they will […]
As part of the continued move toward total electronic processing, the USPTO will issue certificates of correction for patents electronically beginning January 30, 2024. The electronic certificate of correction will be the official certificate of correction issued under seal as provided for by the applicable statute. The USPTO will make electronic certificates of correction available […]
Starting on January 17, 2024, non-provisional utility patent applications, with specification, claims and abstract in non DOCX filing formats, i.e., in PDF, will incur a surcharge of $400. An option for applicants to provide a backup PDF, or auxiliary PDF, version of their application with their DOCX version is available. There are no fees associated […]
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published a final rule in the Federal Register on August 3, 2020, that includes a fee for patent applications that are not filed in the DOCX format. The fee only applies to non-provisional utility applications and not to design, plant, or provisional applications. The effective date of […]
On April 18, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will begin issuing electronic patent grants (eGrants) rather than paper patents. Part of this changeover involves modifying the Issue Fee Transmittal form (PTOL-85B) and its web-based version. The form no longer allows for advance orders of patent copies, because patents may be printed directly […]
To further advance its information technology strategy of achieving complete, beginning-to-end electronic processing of patent-related submissions, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a final rule to require that patent term extension (PTE) applications, interim PTE applications, and any PTE-related submissions to the USPTO be submitted electronically via the USPTO patent electronic […]
Beginning April 18, 2023, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is shifting towards issuing paper waste-reducing electronic patent grants (eGrants) to patent recipients—a new process that delivers the official copy of patent grants in an electronic format. A bound paper version as a ceremonial copy throughout a limited transition period will be provided, and […]
Effective immediately, small entities are entitled to a 60% discount (up from a 50% discount) and micro entities are entitled to an 80% discount (up from a 75% discount). The new fee schedule can be found at https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/fees-and-payment/uspto-fee-schedule. New penalties, however, are set forth for false assertions. Under the new law, “ an entity that […]
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published a final rule in the Federal Register on August 3, 2020 that includes a fee for patent applications that are not filed in DOCX format, except for design, plant, or provisional applications. This new fee was scheduled to become effective on January 1, 2023. Through this […]
In a recent case, Eli Lilly and Co. v. Teva Pharmaceuticals International GmbH, the Federal Circuit upheld the validity of Teva’s patents directed to specific methods of treatment using an “effective amount” of certain antibodies. The court agreed with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) that the claim preambles were limiting, and that obviousness […]