Patent fee increases -- Summary of the major themes in the omnibus appropriations bill (H.R. 4818)

Congress appears to have been succesful in levying major fee increases on the patent system. The omnibus appropriations bill (H.R. 4818) will likely become law in mid-December, and will bring several major changes to the fee structure for the filing and prosecution of patent applications. This post discusses some of the major themes of the bill, and shows that it goes way beyond mere fee increases.