Fixed layout

Set fixed width and height on the toolbar,

The background can be set to be included,
Can perfectly align the background image and text,

And for template production.

Fixed layout

Set fixed width and height on the toolbar,

The background can be set to be included,
Can perfectly align the background image and text,

And for template production.

To encourage innovation and reduce the cost burden on patent applicants, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) offers different fee discounts for applicants from different entities. When applying for a US patent, applicants can register as three entity identities: large entity, small entity, or micro entity. Among them, the ones with large discounts are "micro entities". Enterprises that successfully apply to register as micro entities can receive an 80% reduction in official fees.

However, in order to enjoy this exemption, applicants and patent holders must meet the "micro entity requirement" according to the regulations of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

To help businesses and patent holders obtain patents smoothly with minimal cost, today we bring you——The standard for micro entities of US patent applicants.

1、 General Information

（1） Micro entity requirements

In the following situations, the application or patent meets the requirements for micro entities:

1. Each applicant, inventor, and all other parties with ownership interests in the application or patent application are a small entity

2. Meet additional requirements for the total income base of micro entities or higher education institutions;

3. The applicant or patentee provides micro entity proof in the application or patent.

Most applications and patents eligible for obtaining micro entities are based on total revenue, which requires additional restrictions on total revenue and the number of previously submitted applications to be met. If certain restrictions on the applicant's employer or ownership of the application or patent are met, certain applications and patents may be eligible for recognition as' higher education '.

It should be noted that the applicant must confirm compliance with the micro entity before or at the time of payment of the micro entity amount.

（2） The micro entity status must be re evaluated every time a fee is paid

After establishing the status of a micro entity in an application or patent, it will remain valid until it is modified. However, the applicant or patentee must re evaluate whether the application or patent is still eligible for micro entity requirements and pay the fees for the application or patent to the United States Patent and Trademark Office each time. If the application or patent meets the total income basis, this is particularly important because the income limit changes every year (usually in September or October), and the total income of any applicant, inventor, or other person who owns the patent or application may change year by year.

If the applicant or patentee determines that the application or patent still meets the conditions for a micro entity, the fee can be paid based on the micro entity amount. No need to resubmit the micro entity authentication form with each payment.

If the application or patent no longer qualifies for micro entity status, such as due to no longer meeting the income limit of the total income base, the applicant or patentee must submit a notice of the loss of micro entity status rights in the application or patent.

Difference 2

2、 Total income base

（1） Basic requirements for gross income

Micro entity applications must demonstrate compliance with the following criteria:

(1) Subsidiary has less than 500 employees

(2) Not transferring, licensing, or otherwise transferring or promising to transfer the rights and interests of the invention to individuals who are not small entities

(3) The applicant, inventor, or co inventor has not been designated as an inventor in four or more previously submitted applications as explained in Article 509.01 (I) (B) of MPEP.

(4) The applicant, inventor, or co inventor shall have no total income starting from the previous year, when the expenses paid exceed the "high qualified total income" limit, which is three times the median household income in the United States.

(5) The applicant, inventor, or co inventor has not transferred, granted, or assigned any license or other ownership interest to another entity that does not meet the same "gross qualified income" limit, nor is they obligated to transfer, grant, or assign any license or other ownership interest.

Note:Even if the party or parties are not designated as applicants or assignees in the application or patent, and even if no ownership documents are recorded in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the requirements for parties with ownership interests still apply.

（2） Apply for submission limit

Typically, the large number of US patent applications for which applicants or inventors can pay fees at a micro entity discount rate based on total revenue is 5. This is only the first five patent applications submitted by the applicant, inventor, or co inventor, unless exceptions apply to the limitations of the five applications.

Once a person reaches the application limit, any future applications designating that person as an inventor or applicant will not be eligible for micro entity status based on total income, even if the future applications belong to a type that is not included in the limit itself. For example, suppose inventor A has submitted five design applications and has reached the application limit, and now wants to submit a provisional application. Although temporary applications are not included in the application submission limit, this fact is not important here because inventor A has already reached this limit by submitting a design application. Therefore, in the provisional application, inventor A has no right to obtain micro body status based on total income.

Each inventor and any person designated as an applicant must individually meet the application submission restrictions.

（3） High qualified total income

On the basis of total revenue, the "high qualified total revenue" of paying any eligible fees with a micro implementation rate is currently $223740. The amount varies based on the report from the Census Bureau, which is typically released in September each year. Please refer to section 2.3.3 for information on the amount sent earlier.

In order to pay for the cost of the micro entity amount, the total income of each applicant, inventor, and any other party with ownership rights to the invention in the previous calendar year must be equal to or lower than the current 'gross qualified income'. For example, to pay the fee for the micro entity amount in January 2023, the applicant needs to verify that the total revenue of each applicant, inventor, and any other party with ownership interests in the invention in 2022 is equal to or lower than the "Big Qualified Total Revenue" effective from the payment date in January 2023.

Note:Even if the party or parties are not designated as applicants or assignees in the application or patent, and even if no ownership documents are recorded in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the requirements for parties with ownership interests still apply.

If an individual or entity is a US taxpayer, their "total income" (also known as "gross income") reported or to be reported to the IRS should be used on their applicable US tax returns to determine if they exceed the "high qualified gross income" limit.

If an individual or entity is not a US taxpayer, their "total income" should be calculated using the definition in Section 61 (a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 USC 61 (a)), just as they submit their US tax returns for the applicable year. If any of these incomes are not or partially are not in US dollars, please use the conversion table titled "Annual Average Currency Exchange Rate for Converting Foreign Currency to US Dollars" on the IRS website to quantify your total income in US dollars for the previous calendar year.

1. Total income "is reported as" total income "on the US tax return

As stated in MPEP 509.04 (a), "total revenue" is defined in Section 61 (a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 USC 61 (a)) and is commonly referred to by the United States Internal Revenue Service as "total revenue" or "total revenue".

If you are an individual, your 'total income' is reported as' total income 'on your US personal income tax return (IRS Form 1040). For example, for the 2022 tax year, your "total income" is the amount reported on line 9 of the 2022 IRS Form 1040 (marked as "total income"). If you are an applicant or inventor who jointly submits a tax return with your spouse, the total income limit applies to the amount of income that should have been reported as total income when you submit the tax return separately.

The total income of legal entities such as limited liability companies (LLC) is also reported as "total income" on US tax returns. For example, for the 2022 tax year, the "total revenue" of an entity reporting as a partnership is the amount reported on the 2022 IRS Form 1065 on line 8 (marked as "total revenue"), and the "total revenue" of an entity reporting as a company is the amount reported on the 2022 IRS Form 1120 on line 11 (marked as "total revenue").

2. The income limit changes every year

After the Census Bureau reports the median household income for the previous calendar year, it is expected that the applicable "high qualified total income" will change (increase or decrease) in September or October each year. The reason for this change is that the law uses a formula based on "three times the median household income reported by the Census Bureau in the previous calendar year" to set income limits.

In addition, with the arrival of each new calendar year, the 'previous calendar year' may advance, and anyone's total income from the previous calendar year may change as a result. Therefore, if the application in the micro entity state spans multiple calendar years, each applicant, inventor, and co inventor must verify whether they meet the total income limit for the required calendar year to maintain eligibility for the micro entity discount.

If the total income limit is no longer reached, a notice of cancellation of micro entity identity must be submitted in the application to cancel the micro entity identity.

3. Previous income limit divided by payment date

3、 Higher education institutions

（1） Basis for Requirements of Higher Education Institutions

To qualify for obtaining micro entity status in patent applications or higher education institution patents, micro entity authentication must be completed and accompanied by sufficient application identification information (i.e., the relevant application must be identified) and authorization signature. For new applications without previously assigned patent application numbers, the first named inventor and invention name must be provided in the blank space at the top of the proof form to fully identify the application.

It must be proven that the following criteria are met

(1) The number of employees in the subsidiary is less than 500

(2) Not transferring, licensing, or otherwise transferring or promising to transfer the rights and interests of the invention to individuals who are not small entities

(3) The employer who receives the majority of the applicant's income is a U.S. higher education institution as defined in Section 101 (a) of the Higher Education Act (20 USC 1001 (a)); The applicant has transferred, granted, or assigned, or is obligated by contract or law to transfer, grant, or assign ownership rights of the application to such American higher education institution.

Note:Even if the party or parties are not designated as applicants or assignees in the application or patent, and even if no ownership documents are recorded in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the requirements for parties with ownership interests still apply.

（2） The institution cannot be a micro entity applicant

Although the basis for eligibility for micro entity status is referred to as the "higher education institution" basis, it is not the higher education institution that qualifies for micro entity status, but rather inventors or applicants who are employees of higher education institutions or have transferred (or are obligated to transfer) ownership of higher education institutions. Logically speaking, the institution (university) is unable to provide the certifications required by 37 CFR 1.29 (d) (2) (i) and (d) (2) (ii) (where the university receives the majority of its income from an employer who is a higher education institution as defined in Section 101 (a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, or where the university itself has designated, granted, transferred, or is obligated by contract or law to transfer, grant, or transfer licenses or other ownership interests in specific applications).

（3） The institution must be located in the United States

Higher education institutions "must be physically located in a" state "of the United States, as defined in Section 103 of the 1965 Higher Education Act (20 USC 1003) to include:

(1) 50 states in the United States;

(2) Puerto Rico Federation, District of Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, United States Virgin Islands, and Northern Mariana Islands Federation;

(3) The Free Associated States refer to the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau.

Therefore, foreign entities, whether universities or other institutions, do not qualify as "higher education institutions" to establish micro entity status. Foreign universities may offer online education courses in the United States, but the online courses offered in the United States do not qualify foreign universities as "higher education institutions" to establish micro entity status. This is because in 1965 (the year the Higher Education Act was enacted), universities must be located in "any state" within the meaning of "in any state".

（4） The meaning of "higher education institutions"

1. Section 101 (a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 defines the meaning of "higher education institution" in the context of 37 CFR 1.29 (d). See 20 USC 1001. Article 101 (a) of the Higher Education Act stipulates that the term "higher education institution" refers to "any educational institution in any state——

(1) Only admit individuals who hold graduation certificates or recognized equivalent certificates from schools that provide secondary education, or who meet the requirements of section 1091 (d) (3) of this title;

(2) Obtaining legal authorization in the country to provide education programs beyond secondary education;

(3) Provide educational programs that award bachelor's degrees or offer courses of no less than 2 years, accept full credits for obtaining the degree, or award degrees accepted for graduate or professional degree programs, subject to review and approval by the secretary;

(4) It is a public institution or other non-profit institution;

(5) Recognized by a nationally recognized certification body or association, or if not recognized, an institution or association that has been granted pre certification status by the institution or association, has been recognized by the minister for granting pre certification status, and the secretary has determined that there is satisfactory assurance that the institution will meet the certification standards of the institution or association within a reasonable time.

As stated in Section 3.3, the "state" mentioned in the definition also requires the institution to be located in the United States.

2. Qualified entities to become higher education institutions

According to these definitions, public or non-profit institutions located in "states" of the United States that offer certain undergraduate education programs with credits for bachelor's degrees, or offer "degrees in acceptable graduate or professional degree programs," are eligible as "higher education institutions" to establish micro entity status under 37 CFR 1.29 (d).

Except for universities or other higher education institutions located outside the United States, as non-profit organizations under 37 CFR 1.27 (a) (3), any university or other higher education institution in the United States meets the "higher education institution" criteria for micro entity status.

4、 Reminder about the status of micro entities

1. To obtain the fee reduction for micro entities, you must submit a form in your application indicating that you meet the above requirements. These forms must be submitted together with each application for which you are eligible and wish to receive a micro entity discount.

2. Please remember that if you submit a non temporary utility application in paper form, in addition to the normal fees associated with submitting the non temporary application, you will also need to pay two additional fees. Surcharge does not apply to republishing, design, factory, or temporary applications, and can be avoided by submitting electronically in DOCX format using the automatic online patent application solution provided by the US Patent and Trademark Office's Patent Center.

The above is all the content we have shared with you today

I hope it can be helpful to everyone~~

Afterwards, if there are any further questions,

Feel free to leave a message and contact us anytime~~