The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) just released an open letter addressed to John A. Squires, the Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), urging him to reconsider the proposal of imposing periodic patent fees to maintain the validity of a patent based on a government-assigned value instead of the current fixed price. According to the document (PDF), patents in the semiconductor industry are interconnected, making it difficult, if not impossible, to determine the exact value of any single patent.
The U.S. Department of Commerce is looking to revamp the U.S. patent fee structure to raise more funds. It actually raised several of its fees and added new ones in January 2025, which are expected to raise around $440 million per year. However, these are all fixed-rate charges, so companies and individuals know precisely what they will pay regularly.
