The new fees are outlined in a proposed bill that was submitted
to the Congress by the Office of Management and Budget. If the
senate approves the proposal, the new patent fees will go into
effect in October 2003.
Currently, the application to file a patent costs $740 in the
US, and this fee includes the cost of examination. Under the
proposed price plan, the filing fee will be separated from the
examination fee. The filing fee would be $300, and a fee of $1,250
would be paid for examination. According to the PTO document, the
proposed fees have been “rounded”, so that the suggested prices
will be “more convenient to the user”.
The proposal also includes suggestions to outsource the search
for prior art (earlier inventions related to the patent
application). The Patent Office Professional Association (the
patent examiners’ union) opposes the plan. Its president said:
“Most examiners think that it would be disastrous.”
The American Intellectual Property Law Association also
expressed concerns regarding the proposal.
Michael Kirk, the executive director, said:
“We are not opposed to a fee increase if
that fee increase is needed to provide better quality and move
forward with electronic filing. We don’t support raising money for
other programs on the back of trade mark and patent
applications.”
