I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2791 
To amend title 35, United States Code, with respect to patent fees, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 8, 2005 
Mr. SENSENBRENNER (for himself, Mr. SMITH of Texas, Mr. GOODLATTE, 
Mr. BERMAN, Mr. BOUCHER, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. JENKINS, 
Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California, Mr. COBLE, and Mr. WEXLER) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Ju-
diciary 
A BILL 
To amend title 35, United States Code, with respect to 
patent fees, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘United States Patent 
and Trademark Fee Modernization Act of 2005’’. 
SEC. 2. FEES FOR PATENT SERVICES. 
(a) GENERAL PATENT FEES.—Section 41(a) of title 
35, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(a) GENERAL FEES.—The Director shall charge the 
following fees: 
‘‘(1) FILING AND BASIC NATIONAL FEES.— 
‘‘(A) On filing each application for an 
original patent, except for design, plant, or pro-
visional applications, $300. 
‘‘(B) On filing each application for an 
original design patent, $200. 
‘‘(C) On filing each application for an 
original plant patent, $200. 
‘‘(D) On filing each provisional application 
for an original patent, $200. 
‘‘(E) On filing each application for the re-
issue of a patent, $300. 
‘‘(F) The basic national fee for each inter-
national application filed under the treaty de-
fined in section 351(a) of this title entering the 
national stage under section 371 of this title, 
$300. 
‘‘(G) In addition, excluding any sequence 
listing or computer program listing filed in an 
electronic medium as prescribed by the Direc-
tor, for any application the specification and 
drawings of which exceed 100 sheets of paper 
(or equivalent as prescribed by the Director if
filed in an electronic medium), $250 for each 
additional 50 sheets of paper (or equivalent as 
prescribed by the Director if filed in an elec-
tronic medium) or fraction thereof. 
‘‘(2) EXCESS CLAIMS FEES.—In addition to the 
fee specified in paragraph (1)— 
‘‘(A) on filing or on presentation at any 
other time, $200 for each claim in independent 
form in excess of 3; 
‘‘(B) on filing or on presentation at any 
other time, $50 for each claim (whether de-
pendent or independent) in excess of 20; and 
‘‘(C) for each application containing a mul-
tiple dependent claim, $360. 
For the purpose of computing fees under this para-
graph, a multiple dependent claim referred to in sec-
tion 112 of this title or any claim depending there-
from shall be considered as separate dependent 
claims in accordance with the number of claims to 
which reference is made. The Director may by regu-
lation provide for a refund of any part of the fee 
specified in this paragraph for any claim that is can-
celed before an examination on the merits, as pre-
scribed by the Director, has been made of the appli-
cation under section 131 of this title. Errors in pay-
ment of the additional fees under this paragraph 
may be rectified in accordance with regulations pre-
scribed by the Director. 
‘‘(3) EXAMINATION FEES.— 
‘‘(A) For examination of each application 
for an original patent, except for design, plant, 
provisional, or international applications, $200. 
‘‘(B) For examination of each application 
for an original design patent, $130. 
‘‘(C) For examination of each application 
for an original plant patent, $160. 
‘‘(D) For examination of the national stage 
of each international application, $200. 
‘‘(E) For examination of each application 
for the reissue of a patent, $600. 
The provisions of section 111(a)(3) of this title re-
lating to the payment of the fee for filing the appli-
cation shall apply to the payment of the fee specified 
in this paragraph with respect to an application filed 
under section 111(a) of this title. The provisions of 
section 371(d) of this title relating to the payment 
of the national fee shall apply to the payment of the 
fee specified in this paragraph with respect to an 
international application. The Director may by regu-
lation provide for a refund of any part of the fee
specified in this paragraph for any applicant who 
files a written declaration of express abandonment 
as prescribed by the Director before an examination 
has been made of the application under section 131 
of this title, and for any applicant who provides a 
search report that meets the conditions prescribed 
by the Director. 
‘‘(4) ISSUE FEES.— 
‘‘(A) For issuing each original patent, ex-
cept for design or plant patents, $1,400. 
‘‘(B) For issuing each original design pat-
ent, $800. 
‘‘(C) For issuing each original plant pat-
ent, $1,100. 
‘‘(D) For issuing each reissue patent, 
$1,400. 
‘‘(5) DISCLAIMER
FEE.—On filing each dis-
claimer, $130. 
‘‘(6) APPEAL FEES.— 
‘‘(A) On filing an appeal from the exam-
iner to the Board of Patent Appeals and Inter-
ferences, $500. 
‘‘(B) In addition, on filing a brief in sup-
port of the appeal, $500, and on requesting an
oral hearing in the appeal before the Board of 
Patent Appeals and Interferences, $1,000. 
‘‘(7) REVIVAL FEES.—On filing each petition 
for the revival of an unintentionally abandoned ap-
plication for a patent, for the unintentionally delayed 
payment of the fee for issuing each patent, or for an 
unintentionally delayed response by the patent owner 
in any reexamination proceeding, $1,500, unless the 
petition is filed under section 133 or 151 of this 
title, in which case the fee shall be $500. 
‘‘(8) EXTENSION FEES.—For petitions for 1- 
month extensions of time to take actions required by 
the Director in an application— 
‘‘(A) on filing a first petition, $120; 
‘‘(B) on filing a second petition, $330; and 
‘‘(C) on filing a third or subsequent peti-
tion, $570.’’. 
(b) PATENT MAINTENANCE FEES.—Section 41(b) of 
title 35, United States Code, is amended to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(b) MAINTENANCE
FEES.—The Director shall 
charge the following fees for maintaining in force all pat-
ents based on applications filed on or after December 12, 
1980: 
‘‘(1) 3 years and 6 months after grant, $900.
‘‘(2) 7 years and 6 months after grant, $2,300. 
‘‘(3) 11 years and 6 months after grant, 
$3,800. 
Unless payment of the applicable maintenance fee is re-
ceived in the United States Patent and Trademark Office 
on or before the date the fee is due or within a grace pe-
riod of 6 months thereafter, the patent will expire as of 
the end of such grace period. The Director may require 
the payment of a surcharge as a condition of accepting 
within such 6-month grace period the payment of an appli-
cable maintenance fee. No fee may be established for 
maintaining a design or plant patent in force.’’. 
(c) PATENT SEARCH FEES.—Section 41(d) of title 
35, United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(d) PATENT SEARCH AND OTHER FEES.— 
‘‘(1) PATENT SEARCH FEES.—(A) The Director 
shall charge a fee for the search of each application 
for a patent, except for provisional applications. The 
Director shall establish the fees charged under this 
paragraph to recover an amount not to exceed the 
estimated average cost to the Office of searching ap-
plications for patent either by acquiring a search re-
port from a qualified search authority, or by causing 
a search by Office personnel to be made, of each ap-
plication for patent. For the 3-year period beginning
on December 8, 2004, the fee for a search by a 
qualified search authority of a patent application de-
scribed in clause (i), (iv), or (v) of subparagraph (B) 
may not exceed $500, of a patent application de-
scribed in clause (ii) of subparagraph (B) may not 
exceed $100, and of a patent application described 
in clause (iii) of subparagraph (B) may not exceed 
$300. The Director may not increase any such fee 
by more than 20 percent in each of the next 3 1- 
year periods, and the Director may not increase any 
such fee thereafter. 
‘‘(B) For purposes of determining the fees to be 
established under this paragraph, the cost to the Of-
fice of causing a search of an application to be made 
by Office personnel shall be deemed to be— 
‘‘(i) $500 for each application for an origi-
nal patent, except for design, plant, provisional, 
or international applications; 
‘‘(ii) $100 for each application for an origi-
nal design patent; 
‘‘(iii) $300 for each application for an 
original plant patent; 
‘‘(iv) $500 for the national stage of each 
international application; and
‘‘(v) $500 for each application for the re-
issue of a patent. 
‘‘(C) The provisions of section 111(a)(3) of this 
title relating to the payment of the fee for filing the 
application shall apply to the payment of the fee 
specified in this paragraph with respect to an appli-
cation filed under section 111(a) of this title. The 
provisions of section 371(d) of this title relating to 
the payment of the national fee shall apply to the 
payment of the fee specified in this paragraph with 
respect to an international application. 
‘‘(D) The Director may by regulation provide 
for a refund of any part of the fee specified in this 
paragraph for any applicant who files a written dec-
laration of express abandonment as prescribed by 
the Director before an examination has been made 
of the application under section 131 of this title, and 
for any applicant who provides a search report that 
meets the conditions prescribed by the Director. 
‘‘(E) For purposes of subparagraph (A), a 
‘qualified search authority’ may not include a com-
mercial entity unless— 
‘‘(i) the Director conducts a pilot program 
of limited scope, conducted over a period of not 
more than 18 months, which demonstrates that
searches by commercial entities of the available 
prior art relating to the subject matter of inven-
tions claimed in patent applications— 
‘‘(I) are accurate; and 
‘‘(II) meet or exceed the standards of 
searches conducted by and used by the 
Patent and Trademark Office during the 
patent examination process; 
‘‘(ii) the Director submits a report on the 
results of the pilot program to the Congress 
and the Patent Public Advisory Committee that 
includes— 
‘‘(I) a description of the scope and du-
ration of the pilot program; 
‘‘(II) the identity of each commercial 
entity participating in the pilot program; 
‘‘(III) an explanation of the method-
ology used to evaluate the accuracy and 
quality of the search reports; and 
‘‘(IV) an assessment of the effects 
that the pilot program, as compared to 
searches conducted by the Patent and 
Trademark Office, had and will have on— 
‘‘(aa) 
patentability 
determina-
tions;