On January 8, 2018, the USPTO quietly issued a notice that beginning on January 16, 2018, all reissue patent family members, as well as the original parent patent from which the reissue application(s) originated from, will be subject to payment of maintenance fees for each reissue family member (i.e., divisional and continuation reissue patents) (MPEP 1451). This only applies to reissues of utility patent, and not reissues of design (MPEP 1500) or plant (MPEP 1600) patents. Utility patents are 95% of those patents issued by the USPTO. The maintenance fee also must be paid on the original patent which the reissues are based upon if not surrendered because of a pending reissue application. MPEP 1415.01 and MPEP 2504 will undergo changes to reflect this new policy change.
Maintenance fees due for the family members will be the next maintenance fee due based on the originally issued patent (i.e., 3.5, 7.5, or 11.5 years) (MPEP 2506). Maintenance fees are not inexpensive; fees also increase progressively as the patent ages through its term. For FY2018, 3.5 year maintenance fees are $1600 for large entities, $800 for small entities, and $400 for micro entities. 7.5 year maintenance fees are $3600 for LEs, $1800 for SEs, and $400 for MEs. 11.5 year maintenance fees are $7400 for LEs, $3700 for SEs, and $1850 for MEs. These are all detailed in the most recent fee schedule on the USPTO website. However, as you can see, the fees can quickly add up for post-issuance maintenance of reissue patents and families.
The notice indicates that the late-payment surcharge will be refunded for a six-month period following enactment of this new fee policy (i.e., through July 16, 2018).