On May 8, 2012, the USPTO proposed adjusting certain patent fee amounts for fiscal year 2013 to reflect fluctuations in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). These adjustments under Title 35, Section 41(f) of the US Code generally occur annually to recover increased costs of USPTO operations.

The proposed rules apply to any entity that files a patent application, or has a pending patent application or unexpired patent.

The USPTO has proposed that these increases be implemented on October 1, 2012 and be based on the most recent fluctuations occurring during the 12-month period before publication of the final implementing rule.

These increases are in addition to the 15% surcharge on most patent fees authorized in Section 11 of the America Invents Act (AIA), which was effective September 26, 2011, and the USPTO's ongoing patent fee-setting under its AIA implementation (see Legal Update, USPTO Proposes New Patent Fee Structure).