FEES
Guidance for the payment of fees, costs and prices1
1. Effective version of the Rules relating to Fees and the fees schedule
The Rules relating to Fees in the version effective as from 1 June 1995 are reproduced in the 8th edition (June 1995) of the European Patent Convention. Attention is drawn in particular to Articles 5 to 8 of the Rules relating to Fees.
The schedule of fees, costs and prices of the EPO now in force is as set out in the Supplement to OJ EPO 4/1995.
2. Important implementing rules to the Rules relating to Fees
New amounts of the fees provided for in Article 2 of the Rules relating to Fees: OJ EPO 1992, 344.
Arrangements for deposit accounts: OJ EPO 1982, 15 (see also OJ EPO 1984, 321); 1987, 376 and 377; Supplement to OJ EPO 12/1990, 7; OJ EPO 1993, 366; Supplement to OJ EPO 6/1994, 1.
Arrangements for the automatic debiting procedure: Supplement to OJ EPO 6/1994.
3. Payment and refund of fees and costs
It is recommended that the EPO form for the settlement of fees or costs (Form 1010), obtainable free of charge from the EPO and the patent authorities of the contracting states, be used for each payment: OJ EPO 1992, 671 ff.
Refund of the European search fee: OJ EPO 1980, 112; 1983, 189, 219 and 238.
Partial refund of the contractual fee paid for a standard search on a Turkish patent application: OJ EPO 1983, 62.
Refund of the examination fee: OJ EPO 1981, 349; 1988, 293 and 354.
Paying renewal fees for European patent applications and patents: OJ EPO 1984, 272.
Payment of fees: OJ EPO 1991, 573.
Calculation of aggregate time limits: OJ EPO 1993, 229.
Payment of the extension fee: OJ EPO 1994, 76 and 527.
The list of bank and Giro accounts opened in the name of the European Patent Organisation and corresponding currencies for payment is printed on the inside back cover of each issue of the Official Journal.
4. Other notices concerning fees and prices
Claims incurring fees where the application includes more than one set of claims: OJ EPO 1985, 347.
Reissue of back copies of the Official Journal: OJ EPO 1994, 325.
New edition of the Guidelines for Examination in the EPO: OJ EPO 1994, 967; 1995, 424 and 434.
8th edition of the "European Patent Convention": OJ EPO 1995, 437.
5. Information concerning Euro-PCT applications (EPO as designated or elected Office)
European search fee waived if the international search report has been drawn up by the EPO, the Austrian Patent Office, the Swedish Patent Office or the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office: OJ EPO 1979, 4, 50 and 248; 1995, 511.
Reduction of the European search fee if the international search report has been drawn up by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Japanese Patent Office, the Russian Patent Office, the Australian Patent Office or the Chinese Patent Office: OJ EPO 1979, 368; 1981, 5; 1994, 6 and 691.
Refund of the examination fee where a European patent application is consolidated with a Euro-PCT application: OJ EPO 1992, 662.
Reduction of the examination fee if the international preliminary examination report has been drawn up by the EPO: Art. 12(2) Rules relating to Fees.
Information for PCT applicants concerning time limits and procedural steps before the EPO as a designated Office under the PCT (Articles 150, 153, Rule 104b EPC): Supplement No. 1 to OJ EPO 12/1992, 1; 1994, 131.
Information for PCT applicants concerning time limits and procedural steps before the EPO as an elected Office under the PCT (Articles 150, 156, Rule 104b EPC): Supplement No. 1 to OJ EPO 12/1992, 16; 1994, 133 (see also Information for PCT applicants: OJ EPO 1992, 245).
6. Guidance for international applications (EPO as receiving Office, International Searching Authority or International Preliminary Examining Authority)
Fee calculation sheets: OJ EPO 1992, 388.
Refund of the international search fee: OJ EPO 1983, 189; 1987, 515 (521).
Refund of the preliminary examination fee: OJ EPO 1987, 515 (522); 1988, 364.
Late payment fee under Rule 16bis.2 PCT: OJ EPO 1992, 383.
Revised information for PCT applicants concerning the procedure before the EPO as an International Preliminary Examining Authority under Chapter II of the PCT: OJ EPO 1994, 681.
Reduction of the fees for the international search and preliminary examination carried out on an international application in favour of the nationals of developing countries and of the "countries in transition": OJ EPO 1984, 3 and 300; 1995, 14 and 271.
An extract from the Rules relating to Fees, the fees falling due when a European patent application or international application is filed and certain fees frequently arising are set out below.
Extract from the Rules relating to Fees
Article 5
Payment of fees
(1) Subject to the provisions of Article 6, the fees due to the Office shall be paid in Deutsche Mark or in a currency freely convertible into Deutsche Mark:
(a) by payment or transfer to a bank account held by the Office,
(b) by payment or transfer to a Giro account held by the Office,
(c) by money order,
(d) by delivery or remittance of cheques which are made payable to the Office or
(e) by cash payment.
(2) The President of the Office may allow other methods of paying fees than those set out in paragraph 1, in particular by means of fees vouchers or deposit accounts held with the European Patent Office.
Article 6
Currencies
(1) Payments or transfers to a bank account or a Giro account in accordance with Article 5, paragraph 1(a) and (b), shall be made in the currency of the State in which that account is held.
(2) Payments in accordance with Article 5, paragraph 1(d), shall be made in the national currency of the country where the banking establishment on which the cheque is drawn is located, provided that the equivalents of the amounts of fees expressed in Deutsche Mark have been laid down in that currency by the President of the Office.
(3) Payments in accordance with Article 5, paragraph 1(c) and (e), shall be made in Deutsche Mark or where they are made to the branch at The Hague or any sub-office set up pursuant to Article 7 of the Convention which is empowered to receive payments, in the currency of the State in which such branch or sub-office is located.
(4) For payments to the Office made in currencies other than Deutsche Mark, the President of the Office shall, after consulting the Budget and Finance Committee if appropriate, lay down the equivalents in such other currencies of the fees in Deutsche Mark payable pursuant to these Rules. In doing so, he shall ensure that fluctuations in monetary rates of exchange are not prejudicial to the Office. The amounts determined in this way shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Patent Office. Revised amounts shall be binding on payments for fees which are made on or after the date laid down by the President of the Office.
Article 8
Date to be considered as the date on which payment is made
(1) The date on which any payment shall be considered to have been made to the Office shall be as follows:
(a) in the cases referred to in Article 5, paragraph 1(a) and (b): the date on which the amount of the payment or of the transfer is actually entered in a bank account or a Giro account held by the Office;
(b) in the cases referred to in Article 5, paragraph 1(c) and (e): the date of receipt of the amount of the money order or of the cash payment or the date on which the amount of the money order is actually entered in a Giro account held by the Office;
(c) in the case referred to in Article 5, paragraph 1(d): the date of receipt of the cheque at the Office, provided that the cheque is met.
(2)2 Where the President of the Office allows, in accordance with the provisions of Article 5, paragraph 2, other methods of paying fees than those set out in Article 5, paragraph 1, he shall also lay down the date on which such payments shall be considered to have been made.
(3) Where, under the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2, payment of a fee is not considered to have been made until after the expiry of the period in which it should have been made, it shall be considered that this period has been observed if evidence is provided to the Office that the person who made the payment
(a) fulfilled one of the following conditions in a Contracting State within the period within which the payment should have been made:
(i) he effected the payment through a banking establishment or a post office;
(ii) he duly gave an order to a banking establishment or a post office to transfer the amount of the payment;
(iii) he despatched at a post office a letter bearing the address of the Office and containing a cheque within the meaning of Article 5, paragraph 1(d), provided that the cheque is met, and
(b) paid a surcharge of 10% on the relevant fee or fees, but not exceeding DEM 300; no surcharge is payable if a condition according to sub-paragraph (a) has been fulfilled not later than ten days before the expiry of the period for payment.
(4) The Office may request the person who made the payment to produce evidence as to the date on which a condition according to paragraph 3(a) was fulfilled and, where required, pay the surcharge referred to in paragraph 3(b), within a period to be specified by it. If he fails to comply with this request or if the evidence is insufficient, or if the required surcharge is not paid in due time, the period for payment shall be considered not to have been observed.
For technical reasons, the tables embedded in this article are only available in the PDF version.
1 Amendments and additions to the fees guidance published in OJ EPO 5/1995 are indicated by a vertical line alongside.
2 The date of payment when debiting a deposit account is determined by points 6.3 to 6.10 of the Arrangements for deposit accounts (OJ EPO 1982, 16; supplement to OJ EPO No. 12/1990, 7; OJ EPO 1993, 366) and by point 6 of the Arrangements for the automatic debiting procedure (Supplement to OJ EPO No. 6/1994, 6).