The Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand recently announced that official fees for patents will be increasing on 13 February 2020.
Tips to avoid the increase in patent fees
- Applicants should consider what action can be taken before 13 February 2020 (for example, requesting examination or paying a renewal fee).
- If a request for examination is filed on or after 13 February 2020, Applicants should consider filing an amendment to reduce the total number of claims to under 30 at the time of requesting examination to avoid the new excess claims fees (see below).
Patent fee changes
A complete overview of the changes can be found here. Key changes in patent fees are summarised below.
New excess claims fees
New ‘excess claims’ fees have been introduced for applications that contain 30 or more claims at any time during examination. The excess claims fees are as follows:
Points to note:
- Excess claims fees will only apply to applications where a request for examination is made on or after 13 February 2020.
- Excess claims fees will be payable following acceptance (i.e., allowance) and before grant of an application.
- Excess claims fees will not be payable if the application is not accepted or granted.
Please contact us if you have any questions, or if you would like to discuss the patent fee increases in New Zealand.
