Small entity status
Encyclopedia
Small entity status in United States patent law
allows small business
es, independent inventors, nonprofit organizations to file a patent application
and maintain an issued patent
for a reduced fee—a 50% reduction.
Under 13 CFR
121.802(a), an entity qualifies as a "small business concern," and so qualifies for small entity status, if its number of employees, including affiliates, does not exceed 500 persons.
If an organization or individual qualifies for small entity status, claiming such status is relatively simple. The person seeking such status needs to simply file a verified statement in the patent application prior to paying the first fee as a small entity. Any subsequent payments only need to include a statement where such status has changed.
d, exclusively or non-exclusively, or assigned to an organization that would not itself qualify for small entity status. Special care should be taken by an organization licensing technology to the government
. Except for licenses under the Bayh-Dole Act
, the government is not a small entity for these purposes and small entity status would be lost.
.
United States patent law
United States patent law was established "to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;" as provided by the United States Constitution. Congress implemented these...
allows small business
Small business
A small business is a business that is privately owned and operated, with a small number of employees and relatively low volume of sales. Small businesses are normally privately owned corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships...
es, independent inventors, nonprofit organizations to file a patent application
Patent application
A patent application is a request pending at a patent office for the grant of a patent for the invention described and claimed by that application. An application consists of a description of the invention , together with official forms and correspondence relating to the application...
and maintain an issued patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
for a reduced fee—a 50% reduction.
Under 13 CFR
Code of Federal Regulations
The Code of Federal Regulations is the codification of the general and permanent rules and regulations published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government of the United States.The CFR is published by the Office of the Federal Register, an agency...
121.802(a), an entity qualifies as a "small business concern," and so qualifies for small entity status, if its number of employees, including affiliates, does not exceed 500 persons.
If an organization or individual qualifies for small entity status, claiming such status is relatively simple. The person seeking such status needs to simply file a verified statement in the patent application prior to paying the first fee as a small entity. Any subsequent payments only need to include a statement where such status has changed.
Loss of status
Small entity status is lost when the patent is licenseLicense
The verb license or grant licence means to give permission. The noun license or licence refers to that permission as well as to the document recording that permission.A license may be granted by a party to another party as an element of an agreement...
d, exclusively or non-exclusively, or assigned to an organization that would not itself qualify for small entity status. Special care should be taken by an organization licensing technology to the government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
. Except for licenses under the Bayh-Dole Act
Bayh-Dole Act
The Bayh–Dole Act or Patent and Trademark Law Amendments Act is United States legislation dealing with intellectual property arising from federal government-funded research. Adopted in 1980, Bayh-Dole is codified in -212, and implemented by 37 C.F.R. 401. Among other things, it gave U.S...
, the government is not a small entity for these purposes and small entity status would be lost.
Improperly claiming small entity status
An organization that improperly claims small entity status may lose patent rights for inequitable conductInequitable conduct
In United States patent law, inequitable conduct is a defense to allegations of patent infringement. Even in the instance that a patent is valid and infringed, the court ruling on infringement may exercise its equitable discretion not to enforce the patent if the patentee has engaged in inequitable...
.
Case law
Statutes
- 35 U.S.C. 41(h)(1).