Patent fees increase/decrease in Europe

2008-01-01

PATENTFEESINCREASE/DECREASEINEUROPE

A
DAMMIZERA*
LEGERROBICRICHARD,
L.L.P.
L
AWYERS,PATENTANDTRADE-MARKSAGENTS
TheimpactofafirstannouncementbytheEuropeanPatentOfficeresultingina
reductionoftranslationcostsforpatentshasbeensomewhatlessenedbyasecond
announcementofanincrease,enteringintoforceonApril1,2008,ofcertainfiling
feesforEuropeanpatentapplications.
Atthestartof2008,afirstannouncementgavetheimpressionthatthecostsfor
obtainingapatentinEuropewouldbedecreasing.Indeed,withFrance’sratification
oftheLondonAgreementinJanuary(seeannouncement),translationcostsfor
patentsincertainEuropeancountriesaretodecrease.Accordingtothisagreement,
onlytheclaimsandnotthedescriptionasawholehavetobetranslatedinEuropean
countrieshavingsignedtheagreement.
However,anysavingsundertheLondonAgreementriskbeingallocatedtonew
filingfeesassociatedwithEuropeanpatentapplications.Thesenewfeeincreases
arebeingimplementedintwophasesinApril2008and2009.Presently,itcosts
EUR45tofileanypatentclaimbeyondafirstsetof10claims.StartingonApril1,
2008,abasicEuropeanpatentapplicationcaninclude15claims,butanyadditional
claimwillcostEUR200.Moreover,startingonApril1,2009,additionalfeesof
EUR500perclaimwillberequiredwhenmorethat50claimsarefiled.
Consequently,itisrecommendedtoreviewanypatentapplicationtobefiledor
enteringregionalphaseinEuropeafterApril1st2008inordertoreduce,asmuch
aspossible,thenumberofclaimsintheapplication,thusenablingyoutobenefit
fromtheupcomingreductionsintranslationcosts.

CIPS,2008.
*WithLEGERROBICRICHARD,LLP.amultidisciplinaryfirmofLawyers,andPatentandTrade-
markAgents.PublishedintheWinter2008Newsletterofthefirm(Vol.12,No.1).Publication
068.089

2
ROBIC,ungrouped’avocatsetd’agentsdebrevetsetdemarquesdecommercevoué
depuis1892àlaprotectionetàlavalorisationdelapropriétéintellectuelledanstousles
domaines:brevets,dessinsindustrielsetmodèlesutilitaires;marquesdecommerce,marques
decertificationetappellationsd’origine;droitsd’auteur,propriétélittéraireetartistique,droits
voisinsetdel’artisteinterprète;informatique,logicielsetcircuitsintégrés;biotechnologies,
pharmaceutiquesetobtentionsvégétales;secretsdecommerce,know-howetconcurrence;
licences,franchisesettransfertsdetechnologies;commerceélectronique,distributionet
droitdesaffaires;marquage,publicitéetétiquetage;poursuite,litigeetarbitrage;
vérificationdiligenteetaudit.ROBIC,agroupoflawyersandofpatentandtrademark
agentsdedicatedsince1892totheprotectionandthevalorizationofallfieldsofintellectual
property:patents,industrialdesignsandutilitypatents;trademarks,certificationmarksand
indicationsoforigin;copyrightandentertainmentlaw,artistsandperformers,neighbouring
rights;computer,softwareandintegratedcircuits;biotechnologies,pharmaceuticalsand
plantbreeders;tradesecrets,know-how,competitionandanti-trust;licensing,franchising
andtechnologytransfers;e-commerce,distributionandbusinesslaw;marketing,publicity
andlabelling;prosecutionlitigationandarbitration;duediligence.
COPYRIGHTER
IDEASLIVEHERE
ILATOUTDEMÊMEFALLUL’INVENTER!
LAMAÎTRISEDESINTANGIBLES
LEGERROBICRICHARD
NOSFENÊTRESGRANDESOUVERTESSURLEMONDEDESAFFAIRES
PATENTER
R
ROBIC
ROBIC+DROIT+AFFAIRES+SCIENCES+ARTS
ROBIC++++
ROBIC+LAW+BUSINESS+SCIENCE+ART
THETRADEMARKERGROUP
TRADEMARKER
VOSIDÉESÀLAPORTÉEDUMONDE,DESAFFAIRESÀLAGRANDEURDELAPLANÈTE
YOURBUSINESSISTHEWORLDOFIDEAS;OURBUSINESSBRINGSYOURIDEASTOTHEWORLD