29/03/2018

Patent Fees To Increase From 06 April

Patent fees are due to increase from 06 April, 2018, the Government has reported.

A number of changes to the UK patent fees are to be introduced by the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), which will take effect on Friday 06 April.

Fee increases include:

• patent application fees - for both paper and electronic filing

• search and substantive examination fees

• patent renewal fees from year 12 onwards

The IPO will also introduce several new types of fees, including a 25 per cent surcharge - if you do not pay the application fee at the time of filing - as well as excess claims and pages fees.

The excess fees are based on the number of claims and pages in the patent application. You will incur these when you request a search or substantive examination if your application exceeds 25 claims and 35 pages. You may also incur a new grant fee if there is a further increase in excess claims or pages, after payment of the search or examination fee.

If you submit your patent application or search and examination requests through the IPO's e-filing service, you will be eligible for a discount which will rise to £30 from 6 April.

More information on the IPO's list of new fees and guidance for businesses can be found here.


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