With the recent changes to the USPTO structure, without a doubt there would also be fee changes. It is important to see how this will affect the different entities that file for patents whether they be a lone individual or an individual within a corporation. One of the most noticeable differences is the increase in price to file a patent up from $1,260 to $1,600. However, while there may be increases in certain areas, there are decreases in others. One group of people that these new fee changes will help are "micro entities."
To be considered a micro-entity there are various regulations that you must fit such as: having applied to less than four patents total; cannot have an income above $150,162 and the person isn't transferring or giving ownership of the patent to someone else. These various qualifications create the difference between a micro or small entity patent, which get application fee cuts by 75% and 50% respectively.
Nonetheless, it appears as if people are still going to have to give up more money for their patents...
Ya, put it does allow the one-off patent inventors to be able to have an easier time with patents. Also, the start up community can be happy as well.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the read Adam! I wrote a similar article which discussed the change in fees as well. I think people will still pay regardless of the cost of the patents in order to not get sued. This is due to the massive numbers of lawsuits that are happening these days.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a pretty nominal change in the grand scheme of things--it won't slow down either startups or big tech companies from filing their patents. It will just help offset the cost of processing these patents.
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