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The USPTO requires maintenance fees to be paid by the patent assignee. For each patent a firm owns, it must assert large, micro, or small entity status. According to the America Invents Act, both small and micro firms receive fee discounts on a majority of maintenance fees. The fee amount each firm pays is specified online by the USPTO on its comprehensive maintenance fee schedule. [http://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/fees-and-payment/uspto-fee-schedule] By recording the status each firm has asserted for each of its patentsissued patent, the McNair center is able to identify which firms identify as small and micro firms, establishing the research potential for the [[Little Guy Academic Paper]]. Once identified, these small and micro firms may be used to track the effects of patent litigation on patent ownership and a small or micro firm's livelihood.