Today, President Bush H.R. 4818 into law. The Consolidated Appropriations Act provides for restructuring and increasing most PTO user fees.

The new fees apply immediately. The change even extends to any fees paid earlier today before the President signed the bill.

One significant change is the imposition of three separate fees for filing, searching, and examination, all of which must be paid at time of filing. See www.uspto.gov for more information.

Notice from the Patent Office.
Fee Schedule.

More information at IP Updates.