EPO revises proposed unitary patent renewal fees

The European Patent Office (EPO) has revised its proposed renewal fees for the unitary patent, making them cheaper under two models.

In documents dated May 7 but which have only recently come to light, the EPO has suggested two structures—‘True’ Top 4 and ‘True’ Top 5.

Under those models, between the third and fifth years of renewal the fees would be based on the EPO’s internal renewal fees (IRF), while from years to six to nine there would be a slow transition to higher fees.

After the tenth year of renewal, the fee structures would be based on the total cost of renewal in either the top four or five most popular jurisdictions in Europe for filing European patents.

Under ‘True’ Top 4, the cost of renewing a unitary patent over 20 years would be €35,555 ($39,700), a decrease of more than €2,000 compared to the previous proposed price of €37,995.

Under ‘True’ Top 5, the renewal costs would be €41,995, compared to €43,265 under Top 5. For SMEs, the cost of renewing unitary patents over 20 years under the new proposal would be €40,403, down from the previous €41,265.

The EPO said that the select committee of its supervisory body, the Administrative Council, is meeting next week and it will be in a better position to comment on the issue of renewal fees afterwards.