Tomkins Irish & European Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys - IP Specialists
Increase to Excess Claims Fees @ EPO
April 2009Cathal Lane
Protected email address
The prior system at the EPO was an official fee of Euro 45 for every claim in excess of 10.
With effect from 1 April 2008 as follows:
· Claim 16 and each subsequent claim - Euro 200 per claim.
The change is dramatic. For example a case with 20 claims will cost Euro 550 more, a case with 30 claim Euro 2,100 more and a case with 50 claim Euro 5,200 more.
A further dramatic change effective from 1 April 2009 is to further penalize claims in excess of 50:
· Claim 16 and each subsequent claim up to Claim 50 - Euro 200 per claim.
· Claim 51 and each subsequent claim Euro 500 per claim.
Our Conclusion: Reduce claim numbers, for example using multiply dependent claims, to beat the fees increase.
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