News & Publications

News

13 November 2008

EPO to Charge Extra for Long Applications

The European Patent Office has announced that it intends to impose a per-page charge of €12 (or US$15) for each page after the 35th page in a European patent application.

Because the new fee does not apply until April 1, 2009, you can choose to file lengthy cases before that date to avoid paying the new fee.

For a 100-page application (including text and drawings, see sidebar), official fees will be reduced by €800/US$1000 simply by filing before next April.

Our understanding is that the new fee will apply both to direct EP filings and to Euro-PCT applications when they enter the regional phase.

Which pages are counted?

Unfortunately, the new rule is defined in terms of the page count in "the application", not the specification.

The European Patent Convention defines the application as including

• the request form
• the description
• the claims
• the abstract
• the drawings

If these elements together total more than 35 pages, then it appears extra fees will fall due.

For inventions involving sequence listings, these pages will also be included in the page count.