37 CFR § 1.28 — Refunds when small entity status is later (MPEP Coverage Index) – BlueIron IP
37 CFR § 1.28 Refunds when small entity status is later
Source: Patent Rule (37 CFR)BlueIron Update:
This page consolidates MPEP guidance interpreting 37 CFR § 1.28, including 49 rules from the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure. It is provided as guidance, with links to the ground truth sources. This is information only, it is not legal advice.
Summary
This section covers the process of requesting refunds when a change in small entity status is made after initial filing, including the submission of petitions and payment of additional fees.
What this section covers
- Defines the process for requesting refunds when changing from a non-small to a small entity status later than initially filed.
Key obligations
- Filing a petition to change entity status and paying any additional fees as required.
- Ensuring the petition is timely filed and includes all required information.
Practice notes
- Verify the entity status before filing the petition to avoid any discrepancies.
- Submit a separate paper for each application or patent file affected by the change in status.
Official MPEP § 1.28 — Refunds when small entity status is later
Source: USPTOLast Modified: 10/30/2024 08:50:22
1.28 Refunds when small entity status is later established; how errors in small entity status are excused.
- (a) Refunds based on later establishment of small entity status. A refund pursuant to § 1.26 , based on establishment of small entity status, of a portion of fees timely paid in full prior to establishing status as a small entity may only be obtained if an assertion under § 1.27(c) and a request for a refund of the excess amount are filed within three months of the date of the timely payment of the full fee. The three-month time period is not extendable under § 1.136 . Status as a small entity is waived for any fee by the failure to establish the status prior to paying, at the time of paying, or within three months of the date of payment of, the full fee.
- (b)
Date of payment.
- (1) The three-month period for requesting a refund, pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section, starts on the date that a full fee has been paid;
- (2) The date when a deficiency payment is paid in full determines the amount of deficiency that is due, pursuant to paragraph (c) of this section.
- (c)
How errors in small entity status are excused.
If status as a small entity is established in good faith, and fees
as a small entity are paid in good faith, in any application or
patent, and it is later discovered that such status as a small
entity was established in error, or that through error the Office
was not notified of a loss of entitlement to small entity status as
required by §
1.27(g)(2)
, the
error will be excused upon: compliance with the separate submission
and itemization requirements of paragraphs (c)(1) and (c)(2) of
this section, and the deficiency payment requirement of paragraph
(c)(2) of this section:
- (1) Separate submission required for each application or patent. Any paper submitted under this paragraph must be limited to the deficiency payment (all fees paid in error), required by paragraph (c)(2) of this section, for one application or one patent. Where more than one application or patent is involved, separate submissions of deficiency payments ( e.g., checks) and itemizations are required for each application or patent. See § 1.4(b) .
- (2)
Payment of deficiency owed. The deficiency
owed, resulting from the previous erroneous payment of small
entity fees, must be paid.
- (i) Calculation of the deficiency owed. The deficiency owed for each previous fee erroneously paid as a small entity is the difference between the current fee amount (for other than a small entity) on the date the deficiency is paid in full and the amount of the previous erroneous (small entity) fee payment. The total deficiency payment owed is the sum of the individual deficiency owed amounts for each fee amount previously erroneously paid as a small entity. Where a fee paid in error as a small entity was subject to a fee decrease between the time the fee was paid in error and the time the deficiency is paid in full, the deficiency owed is equal to the amount (previously) paid in error;
- (ii)
Itemization of the deficiency
payment.
An itemization of the total
deficiency payment is required. The itemization must
include the following information:
- (A) Each particular type of fee that was erroneously paid as a small entity, ( e.g., basic statutory filing fee, two-month extension of time fee) along with the current fee amount for a non-small entity;
- (B) The small entity fee actually paid, and when. This will permit the Office to differentiate, for example, between two one-month extension of time fees erroneously paid as a small entity but on different dates;
- (C) The deficiency owed amount (for each fee erroneously paid); and
- (D) The total deficiency payment owed, which is the sum or total of the individual deficiency owed amounts set forth in paragraph (c)(2)(ii)(C) of this section.
- (3) Failure to comply with requirements. If the requirements of paragraphs (c)(1) and (c)(2) of this section are not complied with, such failure will either: be treated as an authorization for the Office to process the deficiency payment and charge the processing fee set forth in § 1.17(i) , or result in a requirement for compliance within a one-month non-extendable time period under § 1.136(a) to avoid the return of the fee deficiency paper, at the option of the Office.
- (d) Payment of deficiency operates as notification of loss of status. Any deficiency payment (based on a previous erroneous payment of a small entity fee) submitted under paragraph (c) of this section will be treated under § 1.27(g)(2) as a notification of a loss of entitlement to small entity status.
[47 FR 40140, Sept. 10, 1982, added effective Oct. 1, 1982; para. (a), 49 FR 553, Jan. 4, 1984, effective Apr. 1, 1984; para. (d)(2), 57 FR 2021, Jan. 17, 1992, effective Mar. 16, 1992; para. (c) revised, 58 FR 54504, Oct. 22, 1993, effective Jan. 3, 1994; para. (a) revised, 60 FR 20195, Apr. 25, 1995, effective June 8, 1995; paras. (a) & (c) revised, 62 FR 53132, Oct. 10 1997, effective Dec. 1, 1997; revised, 65 FR 54604, Sept. 8, 2000, effective Nov. 7, 2000]
- Director Authority
- Petition Procedures
- Petition Filing
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- General Requirements
- Express Mail
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- Patent Term
- Term Expiration
- Reissue