While the fee may reap a couple million annually for the PTO, the point may be to cull deadwood agents. As the Office euphemistically put it, the fee is for "protecting the public, preserving the integrity of the Office, and maintaining high professional standards."

The Office estimates that approximately 37,000 practitioners will be subject to this fee under the final rule. The Office estimates that, in 2006, the average annual income in the United States of solo practitioners was $231,777; of patent attorneys who are partners in private firms, $434,464; of patent attorneys who are associates in private firms, $152,677; and of corporate IP attorneys, $198,109; and the average annual salary of patent agents in a firm in the United States was $92,761. AIPLA Report of the Economic Survey 2007. Because the annual practitioner maintenance fee is less than one seventh of one percent of practitioners having an average annual income of $92,761 or more, this fee will not have a significant economic impact on practitioners.

New rules posted in the Federal Register, but, oddly, the Office was tardy in posting the notice to its News & Notices web page.