According to the procedure in force until now, the European Patent Office (EPO) increased the official fees every two years. For the second year in a row, the EPO has announced that the official fees will be increasing from 1 April 2023. Most of the official fees are increasing by about 4 – 5 %.

For comparison, we provide the EP filing costs at current prices and from 2023 onwards:

Filing of EP (online) – 130 → 135 EUR

European search fee – 1390 → 1460 EUR

Examination fee – 1750 → 1775 EUR

Designation fee – 630 → 660 EUR

3900/4030 – 130 EUR increase

It is likely being more cost effective to pay a fee prior to the 1 April 2023 deadline than after. It may be cost effective to enter European regional patent application, to file priority-claiming European applications, to file divisional patent applications and to pay examination and designation fees before 1 April 2023, before the increases take effect. The most important thing is the annuity fees, because the EPO will also increases annual fees:

3rd year: €505 → €530
4th year: €630 → €660
5th year: €880 → €925

As the example demonstrates, for the third year, if you pay annuity fee before 2023 April 1st, current fee is 505 Eur, however, if you will pay it after that date, it will be 530 euros, you can already save 25 Eur. However, since renewal fee may be paid up to 3 months in advance of the due date, Therefore, if a renewal fee is due on or before 30 June 2023, it may be worthwhile considering whether to pay the fees before 1 April 2023 to save expenses.

If you have any questions about the above and how to avoid the fee increase of European patent applications, please contact us.

More information can be found on the EPO website.