Reminder: Conduct a reasonable inquiry before claiming small or micro entity status
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) offers significant discounts on many of our fees to applicants and patent holders that qualify as small and micro entities. For example, small entities receive a 60% discount and micro entities receive an 80% discount on many patent-related fees, including maintenance fees.
It is important for applicants to accurately assert and certify small and micro entity status. Patent applicants should review the rules and any other information necessary to ensure eligibility to pay these reduced fees before asserting or certifying one of these entity statuses. Applicants should also keep records that document the steps taken to verify an applicant’s small or micro entity status for each application.
As part of the USPTO’s ongoing efforts to mitigate fraud and misrepresentations in patent proceedings, the USPTO has begun issuing fines to patent applicants that indicate the wrong fee status (small or micro entity) and are unable to provide an explanation that proves it was a good faith error when required by the USPTO. Applicants are frequently unable to prove a good faith basis because they are unable to show that they have made a “reasonable inquiry” required by 37 CFR 11.18(b). Therefore, having records available can assist in demonstrating to the USPTO that a reasonable inquiry was made.
When assessed, fines are at least three times the amount that was underpaid due to the wrong fee status indication, as authorized by 35 U.S.C. 41(j) and 123(f). Since January 2026, the USPTO has collected more than $140,000 in fines from entities that wrongly claimed small or micro entity status and were unable to prove that it was a good faith error. The USPTO is aware that in district court litigation, accused infringers have argued that misrepresentation of filing status is a basis to find inequitable conduct on the part of the patent holder.
Standardized forms (SB/460 and SB/474) are available to use when an applicant loses small entity status or micro entity status, or if that status was established in error in an application. These forms allow for entity status updates in an application and the payment of any missing fees, if necessary.
To learn more about small and micro entity status, visit “Save on fees with small and micro entity status” and “Micro entity status” on the USPTO website. For more on penalties for false entity status, see “Statutory Penalties for False Assertions or Certifications of Small and Micro Entity Status,” 1536 OG 204, July 8, 2025. See also MPEP 509.02 and 509.04 regarding small and micro entity status.
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