Revised patent and trade mark fees continue to encourage innovation

The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) today announced a number of changes to patent and trade mark fees, which will take effect from 6 April 2010.

Following a wide-ranging consultation last year, the new fees will better reflect the IPO’s costs and the resources involved in providing services to customers.

However, they maintain the policy of keeping patent application fees well below full cost, to encourage innovation and access to the IP system.

The fee changes include:

• Some increases to patent search, examination and renewal fees;
• A doubling of the discount for e-filed patent applications - increased to £20 for all search and examination requests filed electronically; and
• The introduction of a £350 fee to continue with patent proceedings at the IPO, once it is clear they have become contested.

The consultation confirmed that for many users the official fees represent a small part of the cost of obtaining patent protection.

After it was completed, the government listened to concerns raised and decided not to increase patent application fees to the level originally proposed; ensuring a more favourable outcome for SMEs.

David Lammy, Minister of State for Higher Education and Intellectual Property said:

"We are committed to providing a well-functioning IP system that supports and encourages innovative businesses in the UK and helps them to protect their IP effectively.

"These fee increases will see businesses and SMEs in particular continue to benefit from the IPO’s world-class service.

"We’ve also brought consistency to fees across similar IP services, and will be using discounts to encourage e-business. This will make filing patents quicker, more efficient and will bringing clear environmental advantages."

A key part of the new fees is the increased discounts for those who file their patents electronically, reducing unnecessary paper and providing a greener alternative to the current arrangements. This is in addition to an initiative announced in May that ‘fast-tracks (166Kb)’ inventions with environmental benefits through the patent system.

For more information please contact Katie Phillips on + 44 (0) 1633 814326 or James Thomson on +44(0)20 7034 2847.

Notes to editors

1. The full response (49Kb) to the consultation paper is available on our website, together with the Guidance for Business on how the new fees will operate in practice.

2. Proposed changes to initial application fees:

Please see the Intellectual Property Office ‘Guidance for Business’ for information on all other fee changes.

Date of release: 12 January 2010