Changes of EPO Fee Structure as of April 01, 2009

Entering into force on April 01, 2009, there are numerous amendmends concerning the fees and the modalities of fee payment at the European Patent Office. For example, for European patent applications filed and international applications entering the regional phase on or after April 01, 2009, the following amounts apply for claims fees:

• for each claim from the 16th to the 50th: EUR 200
• for the 51st and each subsequent claim: EUR 500

Moreover, a new additional fee is payable as part of the filing fee for European patent applications which are filed on or after April 01, 2009, and comprise more than thirty-five pages. Its amount is calculated according to the number of pages over thirty-five, on the basis of the pages of the description, claims, any drawings and one page for the abstract, in the language of filing. The amount is EUR 12 per page for the 36th and each subsequent page of the application.

For European patent applications filed and international applications entering the regional phase on or after April 01, 2009, one flat designation fee of EUR 500 covers the designation of all contracting states, unless individual designations are expressly withdrawn. By payment of the flat designation fee in respect of a divisional application only those contracting states are validly designated that are (still) validly designated in the earlier application at the time of filing of the divisional application.

The Issue 02/2009 of the Official Journal brings a useful Notice from the European Patent Office dated 26 January 2009 concerning the 2009 fee structure. A consolidated version of the Rules relating to Fees (RFees) applicable as from April 01, 2009, is published in the Supplement to OJ EPO 2/2009.

(Photo (C) by rahego via Flickr under a CC Licence)