What are the overall costs of a Unitary Patent compared to the costs of a European patent?
A comparison of the overall costs of a Unitary Patent with those of a conventional European patent should consider not only the fees but also the costs associated with the validation and maintenance of a conventional European patent. These costs are considerable and typically include translation costs incurred for validations and the publication fees payable to the various national patent offices, as well as the fees charged by attorneys or other service providers for validation and the payment of national renewal fees.
Based on such a comparison of the overall costs, a Unitary Patent is less expensive than a European patent validated and maintained in four of the 18 Member States participating in the Unitary Patent system, four being the average number of those countries in which European patents are validated at present. Consequently, the more countries a conventional European patent would have been validated in, the more economically beneficial a Unitary Patent is.
For example, the overall costs incurred for a European patent validated in DE, FR, IT and NL (the four countries of the 18 states covered by a Unitary Patent where patents are currently most often validated) and maintained until year 12 can amount to EUR 16 527 (estimate based on sample information collected from patent attorneys; with specialised service providers the transactional costs are likely to be somewhat lower).
In comparison, the renewal fees for a Unitary Patent for the same period are slightly lower, and the transactional costs significantly lower, bringing the overall cost down to EUR 11 399, which amounts to a 31% saving on the cost of a conventional European patent. The same 31% savings are obtained for patents maintained until year 10 or year 15.
Unitary Patent proprietors who file a statement to the effect that they are prepared to allow any person to use their invention (licence of right) will additionally benefit from a 15% reduction in renewal fees which fall due after receipt of their statement.
Even if a Unitary Patent is combined with a European patent validated and maintained in one of the most frequently designated contracting states not participating in the Unitary Patent scheme, such as GB or CH, total costs are still 10-19% lower than for a European patent validated and maintained in DE, FR, IT and NL.
Estimated overall cost (incl. external costs) of validation and maintenance in EUR
|
Unitary Patent (UP) |
UP and European Patent (EP) for GB |
UP and EP for CH |
Unitary Patent (UP) and EP for GB and CH |
Conventional European patent (EP) validated and maintained in four countries |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total official fees for years 5-10 | 4 400 | 5 235 | 5 522 | 6 357 | 4 661 |
| Total external costs* for years 5-10 | 2 988 | 3 490 | 3 661 | 4 163 | 6 106 |
| Total cost up to year 10 | 7 388 | 8 725 | 9 183 | 10 520 | 10 767 |
| Savings compared to a European patent | 3 379 (31%) | 2 042 (19%) | 1 583 (15%) | 247 (2%) | |
| Total official fees for years 5-12 | 7 635 | 8 946 | 9 422 | 10 733 | 8 261 |
| Total external costs* years 5-12 | 3 764 | 4 552 | 4 837 | 5 623 | 8 266 |
| Total cost up to year 12 | 11 399 | 13 498 | 14 259 | 16 356 | 16 527 |
| Savings compared to a European patent | 5 127 (31%) | 3 029 (19%) | 2 267 (14%) | 170 (1%) | |
| Total official fees for years 5-15 | 15 025 | 17 404 | 18 245 | 20 624 | 16 591 |
| Total external costs* for years 5-15 | 5 538 | 6 966 | 7 470 | 8 898 | 13 264 |
| Total cost up to year 15 | 20 563 | 24 370 | 25 715 | 29 522 | 29 855 |
| Savings compared to a European patent | 9 292 (31%) | 5 485 (18%) | 4 140 (14%) | 333 (1%) | |
| Total official fees for years 5-20 | 35 270 | 40 654 | 42 500 | 47 884 | 37 461 |
| Total external costs* years 5-20 | 10 397 | 13 627 | 14 735 | 17 965 | 25 786 |
| Total costs up to year 20 | 45 667 | 54 281 | 57 235 | 65 849 | 63 247 |
| Savings compared to a European patent | 17 580 (28%) | 8 965 (14%) | 6 012 (10%) | -2 603 (-4%) |
* Attorney costs: translation (24 pages), validation and maintenance of a European patent granted during the 4th year after filing of the application. External cost estimations were adjusted by 20% corresponding to the inflation between March 2021 and May 2024.