EPO Fee Changes - Upcoming 1 April 09

The next round of EPO fee changes is upcoming.

Following on from the fee changes of 1 April 2008, the European Patent Office (EPO) will make further fee changes which will take effect on 1 April 2009. The fee changes are summarised below.

Excess claims fees

Currently, excess claims fees are charged at €200 for each claim after the 15th. From 1 April 2009, the charge for each claim in excess of 50 will be €500. This will have a significant effect on applications containing a large number of claims. The revised excess claim fee structure will be applicable to all newly filed European Patent Applications, and all PCT applications entering the regional phase at the EPO after 1 April 2009.

What steps can be taken to reduce the effect of the new fee structure?

• Consider reducing the number of claims
• Consider filing new European applications before the new fee structure comes into effect, i.e. before 1 April 2009
• Consider entering the regional phase in Europe early for pending PCT applications. i.e. before the new fee structure comes into effect on 1 April 2009

Excess pages fee

From 1 April 2009 a fee of €12 will be charged for each page of a European application in excess of 35.

Designation fees

Currently, the EPO charges €85 for each designated state up to a maximum of seven fees (€595) From 1 April 2009 a single fee of €500 will payable on filing. This represents a small reduction for applications designating 6 or more countries, but an increase for applications designating fewer countries.