The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is hinting at an increase to many patent fees, notably rises in continuing applications, design patents, and post-grant challenges that attorneys say could alter applicant behavior. This change would be effective in 2025 if adopted.
Finnegan partner Beth Ferrill told Law360 that the increase is concerning because design patents have only one claim, so most applicants file multiple design patents on the same product.
“[The increase] is 48%, that's a lot, but it's also magnified by the fact that applicants have to file in groups in order to really get sufficient coverage for most products. The USPTO also takes an average of 21 months to issue a design patent, which is much longer than in most other countries, and the proposal does not suggest the higher fees will be used to speed up the process,” Beth said.
She added, “The general thinking is, if you're going to increase the fees, you should be making the service better. To be told you're going to get the same slow service we've been delivering for a while, and we're going to increase fees, I think that's a pain point."
