The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has reduced patent fees for small entities and micro entities. The USPTO has amended patent fees for small and micro entities set forth in its regulations to implement the provisions of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023—which included the Unleashing American Innovators Act of 2022 (UAIA). The UAIA, signed into law on December 29, 2022, supports the USPTO’s efforts to reduce the innovation ecosystem’s barriers to entry. The UAIA increased fee discounts for small entities from 50% to 60% and fee discounts for micro entities from 75% to 80% for fees for filing, searching, examining, issuing, appealing, and maintaining patent applications and patents. The UAIA also increased fee discounts for small entities from 75% to 80% for filing a basic nonprovisional utility application electronically.

The changes in this final rule apply to any small or micro entity that pays any patent fee set forth in this final rule. The reduced fee rates (60% for small entities and 80% for micro entities) apply to any small entity asserting small entity status and to any micro entity certifying micro entity status for filing, searching, examining, issuing, appealing, and maintaining patent applications and patents.

Due to the USPTO’s requirement to provide advance notification to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) for certain fee changes before such fee changes can take effect, as provided under the Hague Agreement and the Patent Cooperation Treaty, the discount to certain small and micro fees are delayed until the expiration of the applicable notification period.