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2w ago

Trump Administration Considers Annual 1–5% Patent Levy for Deficit Reduction

If enacted, the shift would make the U.S. the only major patent system to charge holders based on assessed value.

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Overview

  • Commerce Department and USPTO officials are developing draft models for an annual fee of 1 percent to 5 percent of assessed patent value.
  • The proposal would overhaul the 235-year-old Patent Act system of three flat maintenance fees and could raise tens of billions of dollars.
  • Advocates like Brad Watts of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce call it a paradigm shift, while law firms such as ArentFox Schiff warn it risks discouraging innovation.
  • No other country currently charges patent holders a percentage of patent value, potentially making the U.S. an international anomaly in IP policy.
  • The plan follows a USPTO hiring freeze and recent departures, including Patent Commissioner Vaishali Udupa, after a Government Efficiency review halted examiner recruitment.