Setting and Adjusting Patent Fees During Fiscal Year 2020

Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of Commerce Patent and Trademark Office 37 CFR Parts 1, 11, 41, and 42 [Docket No. PTO-P-2018-0031] RIN 0651-AD31 AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of Commerce. ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office or USPTO) sets or adjusts patent fees as authorized by the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (Act or AIA), as amended by the Study of Underrepresented Classes Chasing Engineering and Science Success Act of 2018 (SUCCESS Act). The USPTO is a business-like operation where the demand for patent products and services and the cost of operations are affected by external factors, such as the economy, legislation, court decisions, and increases in the costs of supplies and contract services, as well as internal factors, such as changes in patent examination processes and procedures. The fee adjustments are needed to provide the Office with a sufficient amount of aggregate revenue to recover the aggregate cost of patent operations in future years (based on assumptions and estimates found in the FY 2021 Congressional Justification (FY 2021 Budget)) and to allow the Office to continue progress toward achieving its strategic goals. DATES: This rule is effective on October 2, 2020, except for the amendment to § 1.16(u) in amendatory instruction 2i, which is effective on January 1, 2022. The changes to § 1.18(b)(1) shall apply to those international design applications under the Hague Agree…