Rise in European Patent Fees
22nd January 2008
EPO announce changes in fees.
The European Patent Office has announced changes is fees relating to excess claims within a patent.
The European patent application must be “concise”. The European Patent Office stipulates that a patent application must be “concise” and considers one element of conciseness to be that the number of claims shall not be excessive.
On 1 April 1 2008, a new fee schedule will come into effect, meaning that inclusion of a large number of claims within a European patent will become considerably more expensive. Under the new schedule, applicants filing more than 15 claims in an application will pay a fee of EUR200 per each excess claim
Further changes and charges apply to applications filed on or after 1 April 2009, and to PCT-based applications entering the European regional phase on or after that date. Where patent claims exceed 50, the applicant will be charged EUR500 for each excess claim.
The full article can be read here
For further detailed information visit the EPO website