INFORMATION FROM THE EPO
Time for payment of the basic fee and the search fee for international applications
Where the European Patent Office acts as a receiving Office under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), the basic fee and the search fee for the international application, which falls due on the date of receipt of the international application, may be paid up to one month after the date of receipt of the application without the applicant losing the international filing date.
The European Patent Office will not draw the applicant's attention to the observance of this time limit for payment in the event of lack of receipt of the amount of fees received on the date of receipt of the application.
Rules 15.4(a) and 16.1(b) PCT refer.
The provisions concerning payment of the
(a) transmittal fee, which is payable on the filing of the application (Article 152, paragraph 3, of the European Patent Convention), and the
(b) designation fees, which must be paid before the expiration of one year from the priority date (Rule 15.4(b) in conjunction with Article 2(xi) PCT) remain unaffected by this Communication.