EPO Fee Changes 1 April 2020

The EPO announced fee increases applicable to payments made on or after 1 April 2020.  Generally, the EPO increases fees every two years. Not all fees have changed, but the following increases are notable:

• All annual renewal fees (payable from the third year) have increased by roughly 4%
• All fees associated with filing, including the filing fee, page fee, claims fee, search fee, designation and examination fees, have also risen by about 4%
• The grant fee has also risen by about 4%
• The appeal fee has risen by about 20%, from EUR 2255 to EUR 2705; this is potentially related to the ongoing changes implemented by the EPO to streamline and increase efficiency at the Boards of Appeal. It remains to be seen whether fee increase will decrease the number of appeals filed
• The appeal fee has only risen by 4% for appellants according to Rule 6(4) EPC, i.e. SMEs, natural persons, or non-profit organisations, universities etc. This will apply to only a minority of appellants

Possibly, the higher fee may be intended to act as a barrier which will force potential appellants to more carefully consider the likelihood of success instead of automatically filing an appeal when they have been unsuccessful in the first instance. In combination with the new RPBA 2020, the appeals system at the EPO is set to change considerably in the coming years.