ALISTAIR HAMILTON
European Patent Attorney, Trade Mark and Design Attorney

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

NEWS

Reduction in designation fees for many European Patent Applications

In the past, a significant part of the cost of filing a European Patent Application was payment of the designation fees, with (with one exception) a separate fee being required for each state in which the application would potentially take effect.

For all applications filed on or after 1 July 1999, this has changed. Once seven designations have been made, all states are deemed to have been designated with no additional fee payment. This represents a very significant saving in fees and costs when all states are designated.

When an International (PCT) application enters the regional phase in the European Patent Office, the new fee structure applies only if the International filing date of the PCT case is after 1 July 1999. This means that, for a typical "Chapter II" PCT case, the benefit will not be seen until towards the end of 2000.

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