U.S. Commerce Department officials are considering whether to charge patent holders a new 1% to 5% patent fee that would be based on "overall patent value," The Wall Street Journal reported on July 28, 2025.

There are no official details as to how or when the new patent fee would be applied, or how "overall patent value" will be defined. Proceeds of the new patent fee may accrue as government revenue and thus be removed from the auspices of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), which is a fee-funded agency.

It is expected that this type of fee would face strong opposition from businesses, particularly prolific patent filers in the U.S. and worldwide.

Currently, for each patent application filed with the USPTO, applicants must pay various fixed fees at the time of filing, prosecution and issuance of a patent. That includes a filing fee of $2,000 for a filing by a large company and an issue fee of $1,290. In addition, maintenance fees over the life of a patent total almost $15,000.

It is unclear whether the new patent fee, if enacted, would replace existing fees or be in addition to the current flat fee maintenance fee schedule.

For more information, please contact Peter F. Corless at pcorless@foxrothschild.com or Steven M. Jensen at sjensen@foxrothschild.com.

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