The European Patent Office (EPO) has announced that its official fees will be increasing from 1 April 2022. A full list of fee increases can be found here and here.

The EPO typically updates its fees every two years to account for inflation with most of the official fees increasing by around 2 to 5%.

We have summarised the changes of the most frequently paid fees in the table below.

Fee Type	Previous fee (€)	New fee from 1 April 2022 (€)	Percentage Increase
Filing fee – EP direct or EP regional phase entry (online)	125	130	4%
Fee for a European search/supplementary European search (Applications filed on/after 01.07.2005)	1350	1390	2.9%
Fee for an international search	1775	1775	No increase
Designation fee (for all contracting States designated for applications filed on/after 01.04.2009)	610	630	3.3%
Examination fee (for applications filed on/after 01.07.2005)	1700	1750	2.9%
Examination fee (for international applications filed on/after 01.07.2005 without supplementary European search report)	1900	1955	2.9%
Fee for grant and printing (not more than 35 pages) or fee for grant including fee for publication	960	990	3.1%
Opposition fee	815	840	3.1%
Fee for appeal – for an appeal filed by an entity other than those referred to in Rule 6(4) and (5) EPC	2705	2785	3.0%
Fee for appeal – for an appeal filed by a natural person or an entity referred to in Rule 6(4) and (5) EPC	1955	2015	3.1%
Fee for re-establishment, reinstatement, restoration (EPC, PCT)	665	685	3.0%
Claims fee – for the 16th and each subsequent claim to the limit of 50	245	250	2%
Claims fee – For the 51st and each subsequent claim	610	630	3.3%
Registration of transfer	105	110	4.8%
Renewal fee for the 3rd year	490	505	3.1%
Fee for further processing (late performance of acts R. 71(3))	265	275	3.8%
Additional filing fee for the 36th and each subsequent page	16	16	No increase
Additional filing fee for the 36th and each subsequent page – entry into EP phase	16	16	No increase

 

One example of a fee which may be paid early is the annual renewal fee for a pending European patent application. The renewal fee for the third year can be paid up to six months before the due date, and all subsequent renewal fees (years 4-20) can be paid up to three months before the due date. Thus, since renewal fees for pending European applications will increase by around 3%, it may be sensible to pay a renewal fee at the lower rate by paying before 1 April 2022.
Consequently, if possible, it may be sensible to try and pay any official fees before 1 April 2022.In most cases, any official fees paid on or after 1 April 2022 must be paid at the new (higher) rate.

If you would like to explore whether it is possible to file a case early or make a fee payment early on an existing case to secure the lower rates, please get in touch.