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Several changes to EU design law will take effect on 1 May 2025 following the implementation of the new EU Designs Regulation. A key change is the increase in renewal fees for EU registered designs, effective from 1 May 2025.
The existing fee structure will remain applicable to renewal requests submitted to the EUIPO before 1 May 2025, even if the design's renewal date falls after this deadline (though early renewals are only permitted within the six months preceding the renewal date). However, any renewal requests filed on or after 1 May 2025 will be subject to the new fee structure.
The new renewal fees will be higher than the current renewal fees. We advise EU design owners with designs due for renewal before 31 October 2025 to renew them through IPRIS before 21 April 2025 to take advantage of the lower fees.
Starting from 1 May 2025, the renewal date for EU designs will also change.
For designs due for renewal before 1 May 2025, the renewal deadline will be the last day of the month in which the renewal is due. For example, if a design was filed on 15 April 2020, the renewal deadline will be 30 April 2025, with a late renewal grace period extending from 1 May 2025 to 1 November 2025.
For designs due for renewal on or after 1 May 2025, the renewal deadline will be the five-year anniversary of the filing date. For example, if a design was filed on 15 May 2020, the renewal deadline will be 15 May 2025, with a late renewal grace period extending from 16 May 2025 to 15 November 2025.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any queries regarding the above.
On October 28, 2024, Indonesia enacted Law No. 65 of 2024, introducing significant amendments to its existing Patent Law No. 13 of 2016. The revisions include notable changes to the rules governing annuity fee payments, impacting both patents and petty patents.
Key Changes Under Article 126 (4)
The new law establishes a grace period of up to six months for the payment of annuity fees after their due date. However, this grace period comes with a financial penalty - a 100% surcharge will be applied to the total annuity payment amount during this time.
This grace period is automatically granted to all patent holders, irrespective of the filing or grant date of their patents or petty patents. Importantly, there is no requirement for a separate request to activate the grace period.
Consequences of Non-Payment
Patent holders must be vigilant, as failure to pay the annuity fees - including the late payment surcharge - within the six-month grace period will result in the termination of the patent. This provision is outlined in Article 128 of the amended law.
Elimination of Previous Extension Rule
In a significant departure from the previous regulation, the amended law removes the option to request a suspension of up to 12 months for annuity payments. This streamlines the process but reduces flexibility for patent holders who may require additional time.
The Russian government has announced new regulations for maintaining invention and utility model patents, along with increased fees for intellectual property (IP) rights. The changes were outlined in Ruling No. 1278, which was published on September 27, 2024, and will take effect on October 5, 2024.
Under the new rules, official fees for IP rights will see an overall increase, with some charges rising significantly. Specifically, annual renewal fees for maintaining patents will be raised by 10-25%. Additionally, the existing 30% discount for electronic filing has been abolished.
A major change is the shift from annual instalments to 5-year payment periods for maintaining patents. This adjustment applies to all invention and utility model patents, regardless of when the applications were originally filed. Design patents will also be affected, with the new 5-year payment scheme applicable to applications filed before January 1, 2015. Patents based on applications filed after that date were already subject to this rule.
The transition to 5-year payments includes specific guidelines for those currently paying annual instalments. If a patent holder needs to pay the next annuity, they will now have to cover the fee for the entire 5-year period, minus any payments already made for earlier years within that period. For example, instead of paying an annuity for the 8th year, the patent holder would be charged for the second 5-year period, with deductions for the fees paid in the 6th and 7th years.
These changes are expected to impact patent holders significantly, requiring them to reassess their payment strategies and budget for the increased fees.
We would like to inform you that the Qatari Patent Office has now reinstated the acceptance of annuity payments for all years, including those for pending applications that have not yet been granted.
The process has reverted to its original state before the previous annuity fee change was issued. As a result, the previous deferral rule no longer applies and annuity payments after the third year must now be made, regardless of whether the patent has granted.
Please note, all outstanding annuity fees for periods beyond the third year must therefore be paid retroactively, with no additional charge for these payments. Our partner strongly advises settling these fees promptly, as the Qatari Patent Office may issue sudden decisions or changes that could affect the payment process.
Please also note that the Ministry has confirmed it will not issue refunds for incorrect or duplicate payments.
Should you have any queries in the meantime, please contact [email protected].
Romania will join the Unitary Patent system with effect from 1 September 2024. This follows the deposit of its instrument of ratification of the UPCA on 31 May 2024. The number of EU Member States participating in the Unitary Patent system will therefore increase to 18. All European patents taking up unitary effect from 1 September 2024 will automatically cover Romania, but existing Unitary Patents covering the current 17 states will not be retrospectively extended/altered to include Romania. The renewal fees for Unitary Patents will remain the same as at present and therefore the extra territorial scope will be obtained with no increase in official fees.
We would like to inform you that the Qatari Patent Office has issued a new directive concerning the payment of annuity fees.
It has been decided not to accept the annual fees starting from the fourth year and onwards for applications that have been pending for three years without being granted.
Upon issuance of acceptance or grant, all accumulated annuity payments must be settled concurrently with the payment of the grant fees, while the remaining subsequent annuities can be paid in their respective year until the end of the protection period
As of 1st of April 2024, the European Patent Office will be increasing its renewal fees. This change will affect the cost of renewals for European Patent (EP) applications, and it will also be reflected in the fees shown on your IPRIS dashboard starting from that date.
IPRIS can pay the EPO 2 months prior to the due date, for all deadlines up until the end of May, in order to avoid the fee increase. We have recently learnt that the EPO will not be accepting early payment for renewal deadlines falling in June and beyond. If you wish to instruct early to avoid the fee increase for those deadlines before June, we kindly ask you to log in to your IPRIS account and instruct ‘Renew’ before Monday the 25th of March.
If your cases are on Auto-Renew, please email us at [email protected] and cc [email protected] with a list of the cases you would like to renew before Monday the 25th of March. Please make sure to include the title, application number, and IPRIS Reference number.
If you need any guidance, feel free to visit our help pages.
If you have any questions or wish to discuss this further, please do not hesitate to contact Customer Support ([email protected])
The Canadian Intellectual Property Office has announced that it is increasing most of it's fees, including renewal fees, from January 1st 2024.
There will be a 25% increase in the price of renewal fees in Canada in 2024. CIPO have also announced that there will be an 'annual fee adjustment' in order to keep fees in line with inflation and other factors. This is the first time CIPO have made substantial adjustments to their fees since 2004.
It is important to note that these fee increases do not apply to businesses which fall under 'small entity' status in Canada. CIPO are also adjusting the qualifying guidelines for 'small entity' status, which can now be applied to small businesses with 100 or fewer employees (previously 50 or fewer employees).
For more information on the adjustments made by CIPO, please visit their website.
The 1st of June 2023 marks the start of the new Unitary Patent (UP) system and the end of the Sunrise Period.
While applicants for and proprietors of European Patents can still make an application to opt-out from the jurisdiction of the Unified Patent Court, there is no ban on third parties bringing a claim in the Unified Patent Court (UPC). Once a claim is brought in front of the UPC, the UPC jurisdiction is deemed to be the governing jurisdiction for that patent and an opt-out application in relation to that patent can no longer be made.
Nonetheless, this period marks the official start of Unitary Patents. The Unitary Patent is the new patent that can be obtained after the grant of a European Patent application. The UP gives protection in the following 17 territories: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, and Sweden.
The list of territories is expected to extend to a total of 25 countries in the future, thus also covering Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia.
Certain features of this website are covered by one or more claims of US patents 5,895,468 and 6,182,078