Suppose you have an inventor or applicant who asks you to file a patent application in the U.S. However, the applicant has limited financial resources for filing the patent application. Should you claim small entity status or...more
The Unleashing American Innovators Act, which formed part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022, was signed into law by President Biden on December 29, 2022. This Act increased the discount on most patent-related...more
At the time of filing any patent application with the United States and Patent Trademark Office (USPTO), patent applicants must designate their entity status. Selecting the correct entity status can significantly reduce...more
The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) allows certain qualifying entities to receive discounts on various patent fees by identifying themselves as a “small entity ” or a “micro entity.” Below, we outline the requirements...more
When applying for a patent application, certain entities are entitled to reduced USPTO filing fees. Applicants who qualify for small entity status can reduce many USPTO fees by 50%. Applicants who are micro entities can...more
In accordance with the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) previously provided two extensions of time to file certain patent-related documents...more
Have you invented a product or process for preventing or treating the novel coronavirus commonly known as COVID-19? If you have, and you qualify as a small or micro entity, then you may be entitled to a “fast track”...more
From March to May of 2020, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) responded to the COVID-19 outbreak by offering various forms of relief to stakeholders. The widest ranging of these relief efforts was issued...more
Small business efforts to patent technology which deals with the COVID-19 outbreak will be getting a boost thanks to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)...more
On May 8, 2020, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO”) announced its new COVID-19 Prioritized Examination Pilot Program (“Pilot Program”) to provide prioritized examination of certain patent applications. To...more
On May 8, 2020, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced a new program for expediting certain COVID-19 related patent applications. Under the COVID-19 Prioritized Examination Pilot Program, the USPTO...more
When filing a patent application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), certain applicants have the option to designate “small entity status” or “micro entity status.” Claiming either small or micro...more
I am a solo entrepreneur. After twenty plus years in industry, I decided to take the risk and start my own business using my own capital. In the parlance of the law I am considered, almost affectionately, a micro-entity. ...more
In recent years, Congress has devoted a great deal of attention to patent reform. Those efforts led in 2011 to passage of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA), which was the most extensive revision of the patent laws in...more
Senator Coons (D-Del) has introduced patent reform legislation that is similar to but different from the Goodlatte Innovation Act pending in the House. One section of S. 632 that does not have a parallel in H.R. 9 relates to...more
The short answer is that a company or individual who already is qualified as a small entity (which entitles you to 50% off U.S. patent filing costs) may also qualify under the final rules issued by the Patent Office for...more
As part of new rules introduced by the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA), a new section that defines a “micro entity” was added to Title 35 of the United States Code. As a subset of small entity status, micro entity...more
In This Issue: Comments on New AIA Rules; Implementing the New Micro Entity Status at the U.S. Patent Office; Obama Administration Focuses on Chinese Trade Secret Misappropriation; and Tiffany & Co. v. Costco Wholesale...more
On March 19, 2013, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) implemented a new fee schedule as authorized by the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (Act). Among numerous changes in the fees for patent services...more
As we advised previously, on September 16, 2011, the President signed the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, the most comprehensive overhaul of the U.S. patent system in more than 60 years. Most of the changes required by the...more
The USPTO has published final rules governing the new Micro Entity status that will permit certain patent applicants to pay certain patent fees at a 75% reduced rate....more
Last week, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published a notice in the Federal Register (77 Fed. Reg. 75019) issuing the Office's final rule implementing the micro entity provision of § 10 of the Leahy-Smith America...more
Yesterday, the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued its final rules for Changes to Implement Micro Entity Status for Paying Patent Fees. The rules provide for the filing of a certificate of micro entity status...more
Determination of an entity’s size (e.g., small, micro or standard) at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an important issue that affects budgets and dictates the applicable fee schedules at the USPTO....more