EPO’s New Increase in Fees to Become Effective April 1, 2024
As a result of the Decision of the Administrative Council of December 14, 2023, most official fees payable to the European Patent Office (EPO) will increase as from April 1, 2024.
For some fees the difference is quite remarkable, especially as far as early renewal fees are concerned. For example, the 3rd year fee will be EUR 690 (now it is EUR 530), with a 30% increase.
Some other fees have undergone smaller adjustments, for example, the search fee has been increased from EUR 1460 to EUR 1520, the examination fee from EUR 1840 to EUR 1915, the designation fee from EUR 660 to EUR 690 and the grant fee from EUR 1040 to EUR 1080, whereas other fees have been left unchanged.
In the light of the above, it is recommended that applicants pay EPO fees in advance of April 1, 2024, wherever possible.
As a final remark, it is worth noting that in the same EPO’s Decision about the fee increase, the EPO has also introduced fee reductions wider than before for microenterprises, natural persons, non-profits, universities and public research organizations.
Our patent attorneys are available to assess with applicants and/or their attorneys the most suitable strategy to save costs in view of the upcoming fee increases.