AIPLA Comments to the Patent Public Advisory Committee Public Hearing in the Proposed Patent Fee Schedule
September 11, 2018
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AIPLA has, in the past, expressed the view that fees, in the aggregate, should recover 100% of the costs of the USPTO, and that the relationship between “front-end” (filing, search, examination etc.) and “back-end” (maintenance, renewal, etc.) fees should be maintained.
This is to say, for example, that search and examination fees for patents should not necessarily be set to recover the entire costs of front-end processing for patents and that a portion of such costs should continue to be borne by maintenance and renewal fees.
The goal should be to find a balance to any fee proposal to ensure that front-end fees remain low enough to allow a wide range of inventors and businesses to seek protection, making up the shortfall with back-end fees and maintenance fees.
This is to say, for example, that search and examination fees for patents should not necessarily be set to recover the entire costs of front-end processing for patents and that a portion of such costs should continue to be borne by maintenance and renewal fees.
The goal should be to find a balance to any fee proposal to ensure that front-end fees remain low enough to allow a wide range of inventors and businesses to seek protection, making up the shortfall with back-end fees and maintenance fees.