USPTO Introduces New “Information Disclosure Statement Size Fees” for Patent Applications
On November 20, 2024, the USPTO published a final rule making significant changes to patent fees at the USPTO (“Final Rule”). See 89 Fed. Reg. 91898 (Nov. 20, 2024) (available at USPTO Rules Setting and Adjusting Patent Fees for 2025). Among the changes, the Final Rule introduces a new category of fees: Information Disclosure Statement (“IDS”) size fees. Id. at 91923. The new IDS size fees are effective January 19, 2025.
The IDS size fees are designed to “provide more revenue [to the USPTO] to help recover the additional costs associated with large IDS submissions ....” Id. at 91951. In this alert, we provide an overview of the new IDS size fees and their related procedures, and we explain how they may impact prosecution budgets and IDS practices.