Securing patent protection for inventions can be an expensive process. Along with attorney fees, there are official fees payable to the various patent offices, and these fees can be significant.
Some patent offices, such as the US and Canadian Patent Offices, offer fee reductions for small businesses, but until recently the European Patent Office (EPO) did not offer such discounts.
However, the EPO has recently introduced a new scheme allowing small companies to take advantage of a generous 30% reduction of most of the fees payable during the lifetime of a patent application filed at the EPO. This new scheme began on 1st April 2024 and is applicable to fees payable from that date. This initiative aims to improve access to the European patent system for small businesses and individual inventors, promoting innovation and growth.
Who is eligible to claim the discount?
The new scheme is available to individual inventors, non-profit organisations, universities, public research organisations, and microenterprises. Micro-enterprises are defined by the EPO as applicants with fewer than ten employees, which also have an annual turnover or balance sheet total of less than 2 million (approximately £1.7 million). In addition, applicants need to have filed fewer than five patent applications at the EPO during the previous five year period. It is therefore expected to be of particular benefit to individual inventors and start-ups.
The reduction applies to most fees payable to the EPO, including filing, search, examination, designation, grant, and renewal fees, meaning that savings of around £2000 could be made, assuming the application remains pending for a period of five years.
Care must be taken to make sure any claim is valid at the time of paying the relevant fee, but this is a very welcome change, making the European patent system more accessible to small businesses.
www.heip.co.uk