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15% fee increase for US patent filing from September 26, 2011
On September 8, 2011, the U.S. Senate passed the America Invents Act (AIA) by an overwhelming margin of 89-9, the most significant patent reform legislation since the Patent Act of 1952. President Obama is scheduled to sign the AIA into law on September 16, 2011.
Previously, on March 8, 2011, the Senate passed S. 23, a somewhat different version of the AIA, by a vote of 95-5, and in June, the U.S. House of Representatives passed its own “patent reform” bill, H.R. 1249 by a similarly wide margin, 304-117. Rather than proceed to committee to reconcile the differences in the two bills, on September 6, 2011, the U.S. Senate invoked cloture on a motion to proceed with the House’s version. This advisory summarizes several of the more prominent provisions of H.R. 1249 and provides a brief discussion of their immediate and long term impact. The 15% fee increase in the Act will therefore take effect on Monday September 26, 2011, ten days after the Act is signed. PTO filings should be made on or before September 23, 2011 to avoid the higher fee.