Fee Setting Authority to be Exercised for FY 2017 (Oct. 2016)

In advance of the November 19, 2015 Patent Public Advisory Committee (PPAC) meeting, the USPTO has distributed its first fee change plan.  As a reminder, the agency was given fee setting authority under the America Invents Act, this is the first time that authority is being exercised.  The PPAC will provide input on the proposed fees (both patent and trademark) at its upcoming meeting.  Thereafter, the USPTO will issue a Federal Register Notice in January of 2016, with plans on a final notice of rulemaking, and implementation for fiscal year 2017 (October 1, 2016). 

Notable Patent Trial & Appeal Board (PTAB) fee increases include:
fees
(USPTO fee setting page here for more background)

1. IPR fees will increase from $23,000 to $30,500      (Request increases $5k, Institution $2.5K)
2. PGR/CBM fees will increase from $30,000 to $38,000    (Request increase $4k, Institution $6K)
3. Appeal to PTAB from ex parte proceeding will increase from $2800 to $3500 (Notice of appeal + appeal forwarding, large entity)

Notable fee decreases:
1. Ex parte reexamination requests that are less than 40 pages are discounted 50% relative to existing fees, which remain unchanged.

Notable increase in prosecution fees
1. $600 increase for IDS submissions after notice of allowance
-(Note: Proposal to eliminate need for RCE with IDS, and QPIDS program).