Micro Entity Fees to become effective March 19, 2013!

Hello inventors. Micro entity fees are set to become effective on March 19, 2103 according to the federal register . Micro entity status will reduce patent fees by 75% for those who qualify as micro entities.

In general to qualify for micro entity status one must satisfy these four requirements:

(1) the applicant qualifies as a “small entity”, as defined in 37 CFR 1.27,

(2) neither the applicant nor the inventor nor any joint inventor has been named as the inventor on more than four previously filed patent applications – but the following applications do not count toward the four application limit:
applications filed in another country ;

provisional applications ;

international applications for which the National Stage fee was not paid – in other words, PCT applications which did not go past the International Stage;

applications resulting from prior employment, if the applicant has assigned, or is under an obligation by contract or law to assign, all ownership rights in the application as the result of the applicant’s previous employment. Note that this does not apply to the applicant’s current employment.

(3) neither the applicant nor the inventor nor any joint inventor had, in the calendar year preceding the calendar year in which the applicable fee is being paid, a gross income (as defined by the IRS) exceeding three times the median household income for that preceding calendar year (as most recently reported by the Bureau of the Census). The income level which will entitle an applicant to “Micro Entity” status (criteria (3), above) is initially set to $150,162, based on the 2011 figures (the latest year available when the regulations were issued in December 2012); and
(4) has not assigned, granted, or conveyed, and is not under an obligation by contract or law to assign, grant, or convey, a license or other ownership interest in the application concerned to an entity that would not meet (3), above.