I want to enter into the European phase. The international application was published in Japanese. Which text is the basis for calculating the page fee: the international application as published or its translation into one of the EPO languages?
Application not amended
The page fee is based on the international application as published, regardless of the language of publication. The pages of the description, claims and drawings are counted, and one extra page is added to account for any pages with bibliographic data and the abstract.
Amended application
If amendments are filed on entry into the European phase, the page fee depends on the language in which the international application was published, i.e. one of the EPO languages or another language such as Japanese.
1. International publication in an official EPO language
If the description has been amended, the page fee is based on the description as published. In this case, the amended pages replace the respective pages of the description as published.
If the claims have been amended, you must submit the entire set even if the amendment concerns only some of them.
2. International publication not in an official EPO language
A description drafted partly in an EPO language and partly in another language such as Japanese cannot be taken as a basis for calculating the page fee. Therefore, if amendments are filed, the page fee is based on the translation of the international application which must be submitted on entry into the European phase (Article 153(4) EPC, Rule 159(1)(a) EPC).
If the description has been amended, the page fee is based on the entire translation of the description no matter what the extent of the changes. In this case, the amended pages replace the original ones.
If only the claims are amended, the page fee is based on the description as published in Japanese plus the translation of the entire set of claims as amended.
Any amendments under Article 19 PCT and/or Article 34 PCT are also considered part of the international publication and must be taken into account for the page fee unless you have indicated that the procedure in the European phase is not to be based on them. The indications you make in section 6 of EPO Form 1200 should be clear, so the EPO can readily identify the pages for which the page fee is payable. It is also advisable to complete the table on the last page of EPO Form 1200 as it will help you to calculate the correct page fee.
Example:
International application published in Japanese totalling 100 pages:
Description 80 pages
Claims 15 pages
Drawings 4 pages
Abstract 1 page
On entry into the European phase, an English translation of the international application is filed.
Case 1
No amendments are filed.
The page fee is calculated for the 100 pages (minus 35 fee-exempt pages) of the international application as published (i.e. in Japanese).
Case 2
The claim set has been amended. It replaces the original claims and any claims amended under Article 19 PCT and/or Article 34 PCT. The amended claim set consists of 20 pages.
The page fee is calculated as follows:
Description 80 pages (in Japanese)
Claims 20 pages (in English, as amended)
Drawings 4 pages
Abstract 1 page
105 pages (minus 35 fee-exempt pages)
Case 3
The claim set and description (pages 5 and 8) have been amended. The new wording replaces the original claims and pages 5 and 8 of the English translation of the original description, as well as any amendments under Article 19 PCT and/or Article 34 PCT. The amended claim set consists of 20 pages. The English translation of the description (including the replacement pages) consists of 100 pages.
The page fee is calculated as follows:
Description 100 pages (pages 1-4, 6-7 and 9-100 of the English translation, amended pages 5 and 8)
Claims 20 pages (in English, as amended)
Drawings 4 pages
Abstract 1 page
125 pages (minus 35 fee-exempt pages)