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News
The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is increasing fees for patents, trade marks and designs from 1 April 2026, subject to parliamentary approval.
Why fees are increasing
The IPO’s fees have not increased since 2018 for patents, 2016 for designs and 1998 for trade marks. During this time, the IPO has avoided fee increases by improving efficiency and investing in digital services using existing reserves. The proposed 25% increase allows us to address the 32% rise in inflation since 2016 and future cost pressures that cannot be fully offset through further efficiency savings or reserves. These increases will enable the IPO to continue to invest in its systems and provide high quality services.
What this means for customers
Fees will increase by an average of 25%. For example a patent search is going up from £150 to £200 and a trade mark application from £170 to £205. The IPO will publish full guidance early next year to help customers whose fees may be due around the time of the planned changes.
When the changes take effect
The intention is that the new fees will apply from 1 April 2026, subject to parliamentary approval. The current fees will remain in place until then.
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.
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