Navigating the 2025 USPTO Fee Increases: What You Need to Know
Navigating the 2025 USPTO Fee Increases: What You Need to Know
Paul Stuart, MLO Business Development Manager and Patent Agent
Nicole Oden, MLO Of Counsel
Effective January 19, 2025, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will implement new fee structures across a wide range of services. While these adjustments aim to support the USPTO’s long-term sustainability, they present important considerations for our clients’ intellectual property portfolios.
An Overview of the Fee Adjustments
The 2025 fee schedule includes increases across most categories, with some fees seeing minor adjustments and others experiencing significant hikes. Small and micro entities will continue to benefit from reduced fees, though percentage increases apply proportionally to all applicants.
Key Changes to Be Aware Of
Some of the most significant increases impact key areas of IP portfolio management:
Continuation Applications: Filing fees for continuations will rise sharply, especially for those filed after the six-year mark of the earliest priority date. Strategic filing will be critical to avoid unnecessary costs.
Requests for Continued Examination (RCEs): Fees for RCEs will increase notably, making extended prosecution more costly. Applicants should carefully evaluate the need for multiple rounds of examination.
Maintenance Fees: Maintenance fees will increase across all payment windows, creating a substantial budget consideration for mature portfolios with numerous issued patents and registered trademarks.
Insufficient Information Fees: Additional fees will be incurred if trademark applications do not include specific requirements, such as omitting things like translations of words, written consent if a mark identifies a living person, and a business domicile address.
Description Fees: Additional fees will be incurred if the ID Manual is not used to draft the goods and services descriptions for a trademark application.
How MLO Can Help Manage Costs
At MLO, we provide strategies to navigate these changes and maximize the value of your IP investments:
Strategic Continuation Planning: We ensure continuation filings align with business goals to avoid unnecessary costs.
Thorough Trademark and Patentability Analysis: Our upfront analysis helps improve the likelihood of trademark registration and patent allowance, reducing the need for prolonged prosecution.
Portfolio Optimization: We identify high-value trademarks and patents for maintenance while advising on where to cut lower-priority trademarks and patents, ensuring budgets are effectively allocated.
Collaborative Application Strategy: We work closely with clients to draft tailored trademark applications, ensuring accuracy and strategic alignment with their business goals, helping to mitigate the impact of USPTO fee increases by reducing the likelihood of costly application errors or refusals.
MLO remains dedicated to delivering high-value IP strategies tailored to your business needs. By anticipating fee changes and adjusting strategies accordingly, we help clients maintain robust, cost-effective portfolios in a competitive environment.
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