Trademarks USA- Proposal Of New Fees Introduced By The USPTO – Trademark

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is
planning to implement the new fees relating to trademarks in USA
and on March 26, 2024, the USPTO issued a notice of proposed
rulemaking (NPRM) to set or increase certain trademark fees in the
United States of America.

The NPRM issued includes the introduction of 11 new fees and the
discontinuation of 5 current fees. The NPRM commences the 60 days
for members of the public to provide their comments to the USPTO
and the USPTO intends to issue a final ruling in Financial Year
2025 following a review of public comments received.

The aim of fee setting at the USPTO is to provide adequate
financial resources to facilitate the effective and smooth
administration of the United States Intellectual Property (IP)
System. The overriding principles behind this goal are to:

• Function within a sustainable funding model that avoids
  disruptions caused by fluctuations in financial operations.




• Enable the USPTO to continue making strategic
  improvements.

Trademarks USA- The USPTO proposes to set and adjust fees with
respect to the following fee categories:

1. Applications




2. Intent to Use Filings

• Amendment to Allege Use




• Statement of Use

3. Letters of Protest




4. Post Registration Maintenance filings

• Renewals




• Declaration of Use




• Declaration of Incontestability

5. Petitions to the Director




6. Petitions to Revive the Application.

Noticeably, the increase in the fee appears to deal with
“Bad Faith Filings” which results in a backlog at the
trademark Registry in the United States of America. In this regard,
the USPTO is planning to introduce a new fee to curb the poorly
filed applications i.e. $100 will be charged per class for
providing insufficient information in the trademark
application.

A breakdown of the Proposed Fee by USPTO is listed below for
ready reference:

APPLICATION FILING

INTENT TO USE FILING

POST REGISTRATION MAINTENANCE FILINGS

The percentage of registrants who choose to maintain/renew their
trademark and file for maintenance is decreasing. Further, the
USPTO expects this trend to continue due to anticipated growth in
application submissions from groups historically less likely to
maintain a registration. Given these changes in demand and filing
behaviors, aggregate revenue derived from maintenance filings
requires a rebalancing to keep barriers to filing new applications
low.

LETTER OF PROTEST AND PETITIONS

With the submission of the proposed new fee by USPTO, the
Trademark Applicants/owners can expect progress towards optimizing
trademark application pendency, improving accuracy and reliability
of the trademark register, fostering business effectiveness and
improved customer experience, and ensuring financial sustainability
to facilitate effective operations.

Related Posts

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actions for applications

Prioritized Examination Program for Covid-19
Related Marks- USPTO

For further information please contact at S.S Rana &
Co. email: info@ssrana.in or
call at (+91- 11 4012 3000). Our website can be accessed at
www.ssrana.in

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