USPTO Sets $783 International Patent-Search Fee for U.S. Filings
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has revised the international search fee charged for certain patent applications filed through the United States Receiving Office. The new fee is $783, and the change took effect Aug. 1, 2026.
The fee applies when the Ministry of Intellectual Property of the Republic of Korea acts as the International Searching Authority for an international application. The USPTO said the adjustment reflects a change in the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the Swiss franc.
What changed
The change is an administrative update to the fee schedule used for international patent applications filed in the United States. It concerns the search fee associated with Korea’s Ministry of Intellectual Property, rather than a general change to every international patent filing.
For applicants using that searching authority, the revised amount is $783. Patent applicants and the professionals who prepare or manage their filings will need to use the updated amount when calculating the cost of an eligible international application filed through the United States Receiving Office.
The USPTO announced the change through its Patent Cooperation Treaty news and announcements materials. The agency said a revised PCT fee schedule is available through its international-protection resources.
Why the fee matters
International patent applications involve filing costs that can vary according to the authority responsible for conducting the international search. In this case, the amount charged for the Korean ministry’s search service changed because of currency exchange-rate movements.
That means the immediate impact is on fee calculations. An applicant, patent attorney or other filing professional relying on an older schedule could use an outdated amount when preparing the application. The USPTO’s revised schedule provides the current figure for the affected search fee.
The notice applies to international applications filed in the United States Receiving Office. It does not, based on the approved notice, quantify how many U.S. applicants will be affected. The source materials also do not provide an estimate of the total dollar impact on applicants or identify particular companies, universities or inventors whose filings will change in cost.
What the change does not do
The fee adjustment is not a new patent law. It does not change patentability standards, according to the scope of the notice summarized by the USPTO, and it does not itself change filing deadlines.
Nor does the exchange-rate adjustment establish a broader shift in U.S. patent policy. The announcement addresses the amount of one international search fee and the schedule used to calculate it. It does not report a change in how patent applications are examined or in the legal standards applied to them.
That distinction matters for applicants reviewing the change. The immediate task is to update the cost calculation for an international application using Korea’s Ministry of Intellectual Property as the International Searching Authority. The filing’s substantive patentability questions and applicable deadlines are separate matters.
What happens next
The revised $783 amount is already in effect as of Aug. 1, 2026. Applicants and filing professionals should consult the USPTO’s revised PCT fee schedule when preparing or reviewing affected international applications.
The USPTO’s notice provides the new fee and its exchange-rate rationale, but it does not announce another change, a transition period or a later deadline. The next known step for people handling these filings is therefore to use the updated schedule and confirm the applicable fee for the selected searching authority.
Sources
- Patent Cooperation Treaty news and announcements, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
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