|
GOOD NEWS FOR PATENT HOLDERS AND APPLICANTS!
At least six Patent Office fees will be reduced in January.
These include issue fees for utility, design, plant, and reissue applications, plus publication fees and patent ownership recording.
RECORDATION AND PUBLICATION FEES ELIMINATED!
Beginning January 1, 2014, the government will no longer charge $40 per patent for electronic recording of patent assignments. Since all our filings are completed electronically, our clients will save on recordations! The $300 patent publication fee goes to zero as well!
WHY RECORD?
A patent owner perfects his assignment of patent rights, analogous to a property owner perfecting his title to real estate, by recording the patent assignment. For patents, this is done at the patent office. If disagreements over patent ownership arise, the first to record usually wins. To put it in legalese, "recordation of an assignment creates a rebuttable presumption that the assignment is valid."
WHY NOW?
Why are we mentioning this now in 2013? We are in a special 3-month window. If a patent assignment is recorded within 3 months of being signed, it enjoys a statutory presumption of validity in any challenge to ownership that later recorded or unrecorded assignments do not. Since we are within 3 months of the date of the fee reduction, and assuming there are no imminent challenges to ownership that require immediate action, we can delay the recording of any assignment signed since October 1st, until the fee-free policy begins on January 1st, without losing the statutory benefit.
DON'T BE SURPRISED:
If you have a recent patent assignment for us to record, do not be surprised if we offer to delay until January to save you some money. Contact our office for more information.
SPREAD THE WORD!
This is just one small example of how here at MCR we think the intelligent application of IP strategies can advance your business interests. Please contact me or anyone here for more information. And please pass this along to anyone you know that may be in need of intellectual property legal services.
David A. Rardin, Member
drardin@mcr-ip.com
(603)886-6100
| 
