USPTO Patent Fees Changes in 2025

November, 2024

A new patent fee schedule will be introduced in the United States Patent and Trademark Office starting 19th January 2025. Generally, there will be an across-the-board 7.5% increase in patent fees, covering 433 patent fees for undiscounted, small, and micro entities.

We summarize below a few significant changes:

1. About 50% increase in costs for a design patent application
   
2. Excess claims fees for independent claims over 3 to increase 25% and for claims over 20 to increase 100%
   
3. Higher Fees for continuing prosecution or continuing applications, especially later in the patent life cycle
   1. Request for Continued Examination (RCE) fees increase by 10% for the first request and 43% for the second request
      
   2. New fees for continuing applications, including continuation, divisional and continuation-in-part applications, filed after 6 years from “earliest benefit date” ($2700 for years 6-9 to $4000 after 9 years for undiscounted fees)
      
4. After Final Consideration Pilot Program (AFCP) 2.0 will be discontinued on December 14, 2024.
   

Reach out to us at eip@eipgroup.asia as soon as possible if you wish to proceed with the current fees prior to the changes. Timely action is crucial to navigate these changes effectively and conserve costs.

This article is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice or a legal opinion on a specific set of facts.