The European Patent Office (EPO) has made a significant change to its fee system, which came into force on 1 April 2024. The aim of this change is to make the European patent system more accessible to small applicants and to support their development and growth.
Target group: Micro entities
The revised fee system provides for a 30% reduction on important official fees. This support is targeted at so-called micro-entities, which include:
- Microenterprises with fewer than ten full-time employees and an annual turnover or annual balance sheet of no more than EUR 2 million.
- natural persons (i.e. an individuals)
- non-profit organisations, universities or public research organisations
Requirements for the reduction
All applicants of a patent application must meet the criteria of a micro entity in order to benefit from the reduction. In addition, the reduction is subject to the following condition:
- The applicant must not have filed more than five European patent applications in the five years preceding the relevant filing date.
Affected fees
The reduction applies to several types of fees:
- Filing fee
- Fees for the European or supplementary European search
- Examination fee
- Designation fee
- Fee for grant
- Renewal fees
Obligation to declare
Applicants wishing to claim discounts are obliged to expressly declare their status as a micro entity.
This declaration can be made by ticking the relevant box in the request for grant of a European patent (EPO Form 1001) or in the request for entry into the European phase (EPO Form 1200). Applicants wishing to file their declaration separately may use EPO Form 1011, available in PDF format on the EPO website.
The declaration must be submitted at the latest when the relevant fee is paid.