Setting and Adjusting Patent Fees During Fiscal Year 2025, 3036-3037 [2025-00273]
Download as PDF
3036
Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 8 / Tuesday, January 14, 2025 / Rules and Regulations
its publication on December 19, 2024,
which is January 18, 2025.
DATES: This correction is effective
January 17, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Milton Boyd, Acting Director for Policy
and Legislation, Office of the Assistant
Secretary of the Army (Civil Works), 108
Army Pentagon, Washington, DC
20310–0108, at (202) 761–8546 or
milton.w.boyd.civ@army.mil.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the
final rule published December 19, 2024,
there was one technical error that is
now identified and corrected in this
document. The provisions in this
correction document are effective as if
they had been included in the document
published December 19, 2024.
Accordingly, the following corrections
are effective January 18, 2025.
Corrections to Regulations
In FR Doc. 2024–29652, appearing on
page 103992 in the Federal Register of
Thursday, December 19, 2024, the
following correction is made:
1. On page 103992, in the first
column, correct the DATES section to
read as follows:
DATES: This rule is effective on January
18, 2025.
Jaime A. Pinkham,
Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army, Civil
Works.
[FR Doc. 2025–00617 Filed 1–13–25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720–58–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
37 CFR Parts 1, 41, and 42
[Docket No. PTO–P–2022–0033]
RIN 0651–AD64
Setting and Adjusting Patent Fees
During Fiscal Year 2025
United States Patent and
Trademark Office, Department of
Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule; correction.
AGENCY:
The United States Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO) is correcting
several minor typographical and other
nonsubstantive inadvertent errors in the
preamble and amendatory instructions
to a final rule that appeared in the
Federal Register on November 20, 2024.
That final rule set or adjusted patent
fees as authorized by the Leahy-Smith
America Invents Act (AIA), as amended
by the Study of Underrepresented
Classes Chasing Engineering and
khammond on DSK9W7S144PROD with RULES
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
15:48 Jan 13, 2025
Jkt 265001
Science Success Act of 2018 (SUCCESS
Act). These corrections do not result in
any substantive changes to the final
rule.
The final rule correction is
effective January 19, 2025.
DATES:
C.
Brett Lockard, Director, Forecasting and
Analysis Division, at 571–272–0928 or
Christopher.Lockard@uspto.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On
November 20, 2024, the USPTO
published a final rule setting or
adjusting patent fees as authorized by
the AIA, as amended by the SUCCESS
Act. See 89 FR 91898. Subsequent to the
publication of that final rule, it was
discovered that the preamble discussion
and several amendatory instructions
contained inadvertent errors requiring
correction. For example, in the
preamble, example 10, which provides
guidance for ‘‘Adding timely benefit
claims under 35 U.S.C. 120 after filing;
multiple fees due,’’ contained an
incorrect internal cross-reference to the
subject application. The subject
application in the example should be
‘‘J’’ and not ‘‘I.’’ Also, in table 20, in the
entry for § 1.17(m)(2), for a ‘‘Petition to
excuse applicant’s failure to act within
prescribed time limits in an
international design application, delay
less than or equal to two years,’’ the
table reflected that the final rule fee
applicable to a micro entity for this
action was ‘‘$54,’’ which is incorrect.
The correct fee should be ‘‘$452.’’ In
addition, in the regulatory text at
§ 42.15(e), the description of the fee did
not reflect changes made by an
intervening final rule published on
October 10, 2024, entitled ‘‘Expanding
Opportunities To Appear Before the
Patent Trial and Appeal Board’’ (89 FR
82172), which revised the terminology
used to reference counsel recognized
pro hac vice before the Patent Trial and
Appeal Board. This correction updates
the description of the fee in paragraph
(e) to reflect the revision made by the
October 10, 2024 final rule. No changes
are being made to the fee amount that
was published in the November 20,
2024, final rule. This final rule corrects
these errors, as well as other minor
typographical errors in the amendatory
instructions. These changes are
administrative in nature and are
intended to provide clarification to
impacted entities to avoid any potential
confusion.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Rulemaking Considerations
Administrative Procedure Act
This final rule corrects typographical
and format errors in a rulemaking
PO 00000
Frm 00116
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
setting and adjusting patent fees. The
changes in this final rule involve rules
of agency practice and procedure and/
or interpretive rules and do not require
notice-and-comment rulemaking. See
Perez v. Mortg. Bankers Ass’n, 135 S.Ct.
1199, 1204 (2015) (explaining that
interpretive rules ‘‘advise the public of
the agency’s construction of the statutes
and rules which it administers’’ and do
not require notice-and-comment
rulemaking when issued or amended);
Cooper Techs. Co. v. Dudas, 536 F.3d
1330, 1336–37 (Fed. Cir. 2008) (stating
that 5 U.S.C. 553, and thus 35 U.S.C.
2(b)(2)(B), do not require notice-and
comment rulemaking for ‘‘interpretative
rules, general statements of policy, or
rules of agency organization, procedure,
or practice’’); and JEM Broadcasting Co.
v. F.C.C., 22 F.3d 320, 328 (D.C. Cir.
1994) (explaining that rules are not
legislative because they do not
‘‘foreclose effective opportunity to make
one’s case on the merits’’).
Moreover, the Director of the USPTO,
pursuant to authority at 5 U.S.C.
553(b)(B) and (d)(1), finds good cause to
adopt the changes in this final rule
without prior notice and an opportunity
for public comment or a 30-day delay in
effectiveness, as such procedures would
be unnecessary, impracticable, and
contrary to the public interest. As
discussed above, the changes in this
rulemaking involve correcting minor
typographical and other nonsubstantive
errors in the final rule published on
November 20, 2024, which itself
underwent notice and comment and a
delay in effective date. These changes
are administrative in nature and are
intended to provide clarification to
impacted entities to avoid any potential
confusion that could result if these
errors are not corrected prior to the
effective date of the November 20, 2024,
final rule. Therefore, good cause exists
to dispense with the requirement for
prior notice and an opportunity for
public comment and a 30-day delay in
effectiveness.
Correction
In FR Doc. 2024–26821 appearing on
page 91898 in the Federal Register of
Wednesday, November 20, 2024, the
following corrections are made:
■ 1. On page 91913, in the first column,
Example 10: Adding timely benefit
claims under 35 U.S.C. 120 after filing;
multiple fees due is corrected to read as
follows:
Example 10: Adding timely benefit
claims under 35 U.S.C. 120 after filing;
multiple fees due. Application J is a
nonprovisional application filed on July
5, 2029. The ADS present upon J’s filing
contains a benefit claim under 35 U.S.C.
E:\FR\FM\14JAR1.SGM
14JAR1
Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 8 / Tuesday, January 14, 2025 / Rules and Regulations
120 to nonprovisional application O
filed on February 2, 2021, which is the
only benefit claim in the application. J’s
EBD is February 2, 2021, which is more
than six but not more than nine years,
earlier than J’s actual filing date of July
5, 2029. In this example, the § 1.17(w)(1)
fee of $2,700 is due upon J’s filing. The
applicant pays the fee. Two months
after J’s filing, the applicant files a
second ADS containing the previously
added benefit claim to O and a new
benefit claim under 35 U.S.C. 120 to
nonprovisional application N filed on
March 2, 2020. This newly added
benefit claim causes J’s EBD to become
March 2, 2020, which is more than nine
years earlier than J’s actual filing date of
July 5, 2029, and thus prompts the fee
in § 1.17(w)(2). Because the fee in
§ 1.17(w)(1) was previously paid, the
previous payment is subtracted from the
amount now due under § 1.17(w)(2).
Accordingly, the amount due upon
filing of the second ADS is $1,300 (the
current fee amount of $4,000 set forth in
§ 1.17(w)(2) less the $2,700 previously
paid under § 1.17(w)(1)).
■ 2. On page 91971, in table 20, in the
third entry for ‘‘1.17(m)(2)’’ (fee code
3784), in the ‘‘Final rule fee’’ column,
‘‘$54’’ is corrected to read ‘‘$452’’.
§ 1.17
[Corrected]
3. On page 92004, in the second
column:
■ a. In amendatory instruction 3.f for
§ 1.17, ‘‘table 21 and 22’’ is corrected to
read ‘‘tables 21 and 22’’;
■ b. In amendatory instruction 3.h. for
§ 1.17, ‘‘Redesigning tables 19 through
21’’ is corrected to read ‘‘Redesignating
tables 19 through 21’’.
■ 4. On page 92004, in the third column,
in § 1.17, in paragraph (f), in the first
line in note 1 to table 10 to paragraph
(f), add ‘‘§ ’’ before ‘‘1.36(a)’’.
■ 5. On page 92005, at the top of the
second column, in § 1.17, in paragraph
(h), in note 3 to table 14 to paragraph
(h), add ‘‘§ ’’ before ‘‘1.84’’.
■
§ 1.492
[Corrected]
6. On page 92010, in the second
column, in amendatory instruction 15
for § 1.492, the instruction ‘‘Section
1.492 is amended by revising table 1 in
paragraph (a), tables 2 through 5 in
paragraphs (b)(2) through (4),’’ is
corrected to read ‘‘Section 1.492 is
amended by revising table 1 in
paragraph (a), tables 3 through 5 in
paragraphs (b)(2) through (4),’’.
khammond on DSK9W7S144PROD with RULES
■
§ 42.15
[Corrected]
7. On page 92011, in the third column,
in § 42.15, paragraph (e) is corrected to
read as follows:
*
*
*
*
*
■
VerDate Sep<11>2014
15:48 Jan 13, 2025
Jkt 265001
(e) Fee for counsel who are not
registered practitioners, and who are not
seeking automatic recognition pursuant
to § 42.10(c)(2), to appear pro hac vice
before the Patent Trial and Appeal
Board: $269.00.
*
*
*
*
*
■ 8. On page 92011, in the third column,
in § 42.15, in paragraph (f), ‘‘$452’’ is
corrected to read ‘‘$452.00’’.
Derrick L. Brent,
Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for
Intellectual Property and Acting Director of
the United States Patent and Trademark
Office.
[FR Doc. 2025–00273 Filed 1–13–25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–16–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
37 CFR Parts 2 and 7
[Docket No. PTO–T–2022–0034]
RIN 0651–AD65
Setting and Adjusting Trademark Fees
During Fiscal Year 2025
United States Patent and
Trademark Office, Department of
Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule; correction.
AGENCY:
The United States Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO) is correcting
nonsubstantive errors in the preamble
and regulatory text of a final rule that
appeared in the Federal Register on
November 18, 2024. That final rule set
or adjusted trademark fees as authorized
by the Leahy-Smith America Invents
Act (AIA), as amended by the Study of
Underrepresented Classes Chasing
Engineering and Science Success Act of
2018 (SUCCESS Act). This action is
necessary to address potential confusion
for impacted entities that could result if
these errors are not corrected. These
corrections do not result in any
substantive changes to the final rule.
DATES: The final rule correction is
effective January 18, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: C.
Brett Lockard, Director, Forecasting and
Analysis Division, at 571–272–0928 or
Christopher.Lockard@uspto.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On
November 18, 2024, the USPTO
published a final rule setting or
adjusting trademark fees as authorized
by the AIA, as amended by the
SUCCESS Act. See 89 FR 91062.
Subsequent to the publication of that
final rule, it was discovered that the rule
inadvertently omitted applicable crossSUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00117
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
3037
references in 37 CFR 2.22(a)(6) and (9)
and contained an incorrect crossreference in § 2.22(a)(8), which
referenced a fee that did not apply. This
correction amends these sections to
provide the correct cross-references.
Section 2.22 applies to all
applications under section 1 and/or 44
of the Trademark Act, which includes
not only trademark and service mark
applications, but also applications for
collective, collective membership, and
certification marks. However, the crossreferences in § 2.22(a)(6) and (9) referred
only to §§ 2.34 and 2.33, respectively,
which set out the requirements for
trademark and service mark
applications. Sections 2.22(a)(6) and (9)
each should have included crossreferences to §§ 2.44 and 2.45, which set
forth the corresponding applicable
requirements for collective, collective
membership, and certification marks.
This omission was unintentional and
adding the applicable cross-references is
not a substantive change to the final
rule.
As noted in the preamble of the final
rule, the USPTO is implementing a
single electronic filing option for all
section 1 and/or 44 applications, which
includes collective and certification
marks. Applicants choosing to comply
with the base application requirements
set forth in § 2.22 will pay the lowest
fees under the final fee schedule.
Applicants were always subject to the
requirements for collective, collective
membership, and certification marks at
§§ 2.44 and 2.45, as applicable. The
addition of these sections in § 2.22(a)(6)
and (9) do not impose any new
limitations but provide clarity to
applicants that the requirements for
collective, collective membership, and
certification marks apply. This
correction amends the preamble and
§ 2.22(a)(6) and (9) to add the
inadvertently omitted cross-references.
In addition, § 2.22(a)(8) contained an
incorrect cross-reference to
§ 2.6(a)(1)(ii), which is the fee for filing
an application under section 66(a) of the
Trademark Act and therefore does not
apply to applications filed under section
1 and/or 44. This section should have
cross-referenced only § 2.6(a)(1)(iii),
which provides for the applicable fee.
This correction amends the preamble
and § 2.22(a)(9) to remove the crossreference to § 2.6(a)(1)(ii).
Rulemaking Considerations
Administrative Procedure Act
This final rule corrects inadvertent
errors in a rulemaking setting and
adjusting trademark fees. The changes
in this final rule involve rules of agency
E:\FR\FM\14JAR1.SGM
14JAR1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 14, 2025)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 3036-3037]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-00273]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
37 CFR Parts 1, 41, and 42
[Docket No. PTO-P-2022-0033]
RIN 0651-AD64
Setting and Adjusting Patent Fees During Fiscal Year 2025
AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of
Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule; correction.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is
correcting several minor typographical and other nonsubstantive
inadvertent errors in the preamble and amendatory instructions to a
final rule that appeared in the Federal Register on November 20, 2024.
That final rule set or adjusted patent fees as authorized by the Leahy-
Smith America Invents Act (AIA), as amended by the Study of
Underrepresented Classes Chasing Engineering and Science Success Act of
2018 (SUCCESS Act). These corrections do not result in any substantive
changes to the final rule.
DATES: The final rule correction is effective January 19, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: C. Brett Lockard, Director,
Forecasting and Analysis Division, at 571-272-0928 or
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 20, 2024, the USPTO published a
final rule setting or adjusting patent fees as authorized by the AIA,
as amended by the SUCCESS Act. See 89 FR 91898. Subsequent to the
publication of that final rule, it was discovered that the preamble
discussion and several amendatory instructions contained inadvertent
errors requiring correction. For example, in the preamble, example 10,
which provides guidance for ``Adding timely benefit claims under 35
U.S.C. 120 after filing; multiple fees due,'' contained an incorrect
internal cross-reference to the subject application. The subject
application in the example should be ``J'' and not ``I.'' Also, in
table 20, in the entry for Sec. 1.17(m)(2), for a ``Petition to excuse
applicant's failure to act within prescribed time limits in an
international design application, delay less than or equal to two
years,'' the table reflected that the final rule fee applicable to a
micro entity for this action was ``$54,'' which is incorrect. The
correct fee should be ``$452.'' In addition, in the regulatory text at
Sec. 42.15(e), the description of the fee did not reflect changes made
by an intervening final rule published on October 10, 2024, entitled
``Expanding Opportunities To Appear Before the Patent Trial and Appeal
Board'' (89 FR 82172), which revised the terminology used to reference
counsel recognized pro hac vice before the Patent Trial and Appeal
Board. This correction updates the description of the fee in paragraph
(e) to reflect the revision made by the October 10, 2024 final rule. No
changes are being made to the fee amount that was published in the
November 20, 2024, final rule. This final rule corrects these errors,
as well as other minor typographical errors in the amendatory
instructions. These changes are administrative in nature and are
intended to provide clarification to impacted entities to avoid any
potential confusion.
Rulemaking Considerations
Administrative Procedure Act
This final rule corrects typographical and format errors in a
rulemaking setting and adjusting patent fees. The changes in this final
rule involve rules of agency practice and procedure and/or interpretive
rules and do not require notice-and-comment rulemaking. See Perez v.
Mortg. Bankers Ass'n, 135 S.Ct. 1199, 1204 (2015) (explaining that
interpretive rules ``advise the public of the agency's construction of
the statutes and rules which it administers'' and do not require
notice-and-comment rulemaking when issued or amended); Cooper Techs.
Co. v. Dudas, 536 F.3d 1330, 1336-37 (Fed. Cir. 2008) (stating that 5
U.S.C. 553, and thus 35 U.S.C. 2(b)(2)(B), do not require notice-and
comment rulemaking for ``interpretative rules, general statements of
policy, or rules of agency organization, procedure, or practice''); and
JEM Broadcasting Co. v. F.C.C., 22 F.3d 320, 328 (D.C. Cir. 1994)
(explaining that rules are not legislative because they do not
``foreclose effective opportunity to make one's case on the merits'').
Moreover, the Director of the USPTO, pursuant to authority at 5
U.S.C. 553(b)(B) and (d)(1), finds good cause to adopt the changes in
this final rule without prior notice and an opportunity for public
comment or a 30-day delay in effectiveness, as such procedures would be
unnecessary, impracticable, and contrary to the public interest. As
discussed above, the changes in this rulemaking involve correcting
minor typographical and other nonsubstantive errors in the final rule
published on November 20, 2024, which itself underwent notice and
comment and a delay in effective date. These changes are administrative
in nature and are intended to provide clarification to impacted
entities to avoid any potential confusion that could result if these
errors are not corrected prior to the effective date of the November
20, 2024, final rule. Therefore, good cause exists to dispense with the
requirement for prior notice and an opportunity for public comment and
a 30-day delay in effectiveness.
Correction
In FR Doc. 2024-26821 appearing on page 91898 in the Federal
Register of Wednesday, November 20, 2024, the following corrections are
made:
0
1. On page 91913, in the first column, Example 10: Adding timely
benefit claims under 35 U.S.C. 120 after filing; multiple fees due is
corrected to read as follows:
Example 10: Adding timely benefit claims under 35 U.S.C. 120 after
filing; multiple fees due. Application J is a nonprovisional
application filed on July 5, 2029. The ADS present upon J's filing
contains a benefit claim under 35 U.S.C.
[[Page 3037]]
120 to nonprovisional application O filed on February 2, 2021, which is
the only benefit claim in the application. J's EBD is February 2, 2021,
which is more than six but not more than nine years, earlier than J's
actual filing date of July 5, 2029. In this example, the Sec.
1.17(w)(1) fee of $2,700 is due upon J's filing. The applicant pays the
fee. Two months after J's filing, the applicant files a second ADS
containing the previously added benefit claim to O and a new benefit
claim under 35 U.S.C. 120 to nonprovisional application N filed on
March 2, 2020. This newly added benefit claim causes J's EBD to become
March 2, 2020, which is more than nine years earlier than J's actual
filing date of July 5, 2029, and thus prompts the fee in Sec.
1.17(w)(2). Because the fee in Sec. 1.17(w)(1) was previously paid,
the previous payment is subtracted from the amount now due under Sec.
1.17(w)(2). Accordingly, the amount due upon filing of the second ADS
is $1,300 (the current fee amount of $4,000 set forth in Sec.
1.17(w)(2) less the $2,700 previously paid under Sec. 1.17(w)(1)).
0
2. On page 91971, in table 20, in the third entry for ``1.17(m)(2)''
(fee code 3784), in the ``Final rule fee'' column, ``$54'' is corrected
to read ``$452''.
Sec. 1.17 [Corrected]
0
3. On page 92004, in the second column:
0
a. In amendatory instruction 3.f for Sec. 1.17, ``table 21 and 22'' is
corrected to read ``tables 21 and 22'';
0
b. In amendatory instruction 3.h. for Sec. 1.17, ``Redesigning tables
19 through 21'' is corrected to read ``Redesignating tables 19 through
21''.
0
4. On page 92004, in the third column, in Sec. 1.17, in paragraph (f),
in the first line in note 1 to table 10 to paragraph (f), add ``Sec.
'' before ``1.36(a)''.
0
5. On page 92005, at the top of the second column, in Sec. 1.17, in
paragraph (h), in note 3 to table 14 to paragraph (h), add ``Sec. ''
before ``1.84''.
Sec. 1.492 [Corrected]
0
6. On page 92010, in the second column, in amendatory instruction 15
for Sec. 1.492, the instruction ``Section 1.492 is amended by revising
table 1 in paragraph (a), tables 2 through 5 in paragraphs (b)(2)
through (4),'' is corrected to read ``Section 1.492 is amended by
revising table 1 in paragraph (a), tables 3 through 5 in paragraphs
(b)(2) through (4),''.
Sec. 42.15 [Corrected]
0
7. On page 92011, in the third column, in Sec. 42.15, paragraph (e) is
corrected to read as follows:
* * * * *
(e) Fee for counsel who are not registered practitioners, and who
are not seeking automatic recognition pursuant to Sec. 42.10(c)(2), to
appear pro hac vice before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board: $269.00.
* * * * *
0
8. On page 92011, in the third column, in Sec. 42.15, in paragraph
(f), ``$452'' is corrected to read ``$452.00''.
Derrick L. Brent,
Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Acting
Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2025-00273 Filed 1-13-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P