Check whether a claim fee is payable when a patent is examined
Key facts
- Human involvement
- RedLawyer-led
- How AI is used
- From the specification and the examination request the lawyer selects, record the date examination was requested, the number of claims the specification was proposed to contain when the examiner would first examine it, and whether a voluntary amendment reducing the claims was filed before examination. Do not calculate a fee and do not decide that a fee applies.
- What the lawyer must review
- The lawyer decides whether a claim fee applies and the band. The timeframes page says a fee is payable if the application is proposed to contain more than twenty claims when an examiner first examines it, and that the fee does not apply if examination is requested before 1 October 2024. The heading describes the charges if examination is requested after 1 October 2024. A request made on 1 October 2024 is not placed in either of those sentences. The fee for more than twenty but fewer than thirty-one claims is $125 per claim in that range. The fee for more than thirty claims is $250 per claim over thirty, plus $125 per claim more than twenty but fewer than thirty-one. The liability can be reduced by a voluntary amendment to twenty or fewer claims before examination. A voluntary amendment of a standard application before the request for examination has a fee of $250. There is no fee for a voluntary amendment of a provisional application, and no fee if the voluntary amendment is requested after a request for examination has been made. The examination request fee of $550 is a different fee.
- Written for / version
- US
Open a jurisdiction version of this task to see which instruments apply: US
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | Supporting preparation only. From the specification and the examination request the lawyer selects, record the date examination was requested, the number of claims the specification was proposed to contain when the examiner would first examine it, and whether a voluntary amendment reducing the claims was filed before examination. Do not calculate a fee and do not decide that a fee applies. The tool writes nothing into the document. Substantive advice, judgement and any restricted content remain with the responsible human. |
| Lawyer | Perform the substantive analysis and decisions. Independently check any permitted supporting work and approve the exact output for its intended use. |
Checklist
- Count the claims proposed to be on file when the examiner first examines the application, not an earlier draft the lawyer has discarded.
- If the request date is before 1 October 2024, record that the page says this fee does not apply.
- If the request date is 1 October 2024, do not choose a band. The page's heading says after that date, and the exclusion says before that date.
- Do not add the $550 examination request fee, or the $250 pre-request amendment fee, into the claim-fee band.
Sources
- IP Australia, patent timeframes and fees · 2026-10-22
These are suggested working checks. Confirm the required checking with the responsible lawyer before work starts; the checking approach does not establish permission to use AI.