Today the USPTO announced the September 6 publication of Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, which opens a 60-day comment period for its new proposed fee schedule. According the Office, “the proposed fees are at least 22 percent lower for a routine patent process—i.e., filing, search, examination, publication, and issue fees—than the current fee schedule,” and are lower than those originally proposed in February. Along with the comment period, the USPTO will seek feedback at eight AIA Roadshows in September. These events will include a presentation on the proposed fee schedule, with an opportunity for questions and comments from the public. Following the comment period, the Office will prepare the final fee-setting rule, which would go into effect no less than 45 days after it is published in the Federal Register. Please visit the USPTO’s America Invents Act microsite for more information about AIA implementation and instructions about streaming next week’s roadshows. Source: The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office This article was prepared by Andy Liddell (aliddell@fulbright.com / 512 536 3043) of Fulbright’s Intellectual Property and Technology Practice.