1. In November 2005, the Office for Harmonization of the Internal Market (OHIM) will have been in operation for nearly ten years and will start accepting requests for renewal of the oldest Community trade mark registrations. This new stream of revenue will substantially change the financial position of OHIM. Article 139 of the Community Trade Mark Regulation specifies that "the fees shall be fixed at such a level as to ensure that the revenue in respect thereof is in principle sufficient for the budget of the Office to be balanced." This new revenue stream presents the European Commission with an opportunity to review and propose a general reduction in the fees payable to ensure the maintenance of a balanced budget as required by Article 139.
2. The Commission has therefore presented the attached draft Regulation for consideration by the Commission Working Group (Trade Marks). The proposal includes a substantial reduction to many fees such as the filing fee and renewal fee. A further reduction is proposed for applications that are filed electronically.
3. The proposal also includes increases to some fees with a smaller impact on the overall budget. These increases relate to the opposition, cancellation and appeal fees, with the Commission explaining that they better reflect their actual value.
4. The Working Group will next meet on 17 March 2005 when a detailed discussion of these fee reductions will take place.
5. If you wish to comment on this proposal, or if you have any questions concerning available options, please let me know by Friday, 11 March 2004. You can send your comments by e-mail, fax or letter to:
Mark Bryant
Room 3B46
The Patent Office
Concept House
Cardiff Road
Newport
South Wales
NP10 8QQ
UK-PTO website: