Amendments to IP fees in Mongolia, Portugal, and Russia
The intellectual property offices of Mongolia, Portugal, and Russia have amended their IP fee schedules respectively.
Mongolia
The Intellectual Property Office of Mongolia (IPOM) implemented an increase in IP fees, with the amended charges applicable from July 1, 2021. These alterations constitute increases across the board, affecting costs in relation to all IP types registrable by IPOM.
Among the most significant increases, the filing fee in relation to trademarks will now constitute 50,000 MNT for 3 classes in the application, inflating exponentially by 150% from the previous flat fee of 20,000 MNT. Also increasing dramatically, the same fee for industrial design applications has grown by a significant 119% from 16,000 MNT to 35,000 MNT, whilst the cost for filing a patent application containing up to 5 claims has risen by 75% from 20,000 MNT to 35,000 MNT.
The cost for the issuance of trademark and patent certificates have increased respectively, with the previous fee of 15,000 MNT for trademark certificates doubling to 30,000 MNT, and increasing to 25,000 MNT for patents.
It is hoped that the rise in IP fees in Mongolia will contribute to a more efficient service for applicants of IP rights.
Portugal
The Intellectual Property Office of Portugal (INPI) has also introduced amendments to the IP fee schedule, which have been implemented as of July 1, 2021.
All IP fees have experienced a slight decrease, with the cost for a trademark application for one class dropping to 127.50 EUR from 127.65 EUR, for example. Similar reductions can be seen throughout all the fees for trademarks, patents, utility models, and designs.
Russia
The Russian Federal Service for Intellectual Property (Rospatent) announced several amendments to their intellectual property fees on June 17, 2021.
As of June 21, 2021, alterations in costs were applied to certain fees in order to encourage applicants to utilise electronic means of applying for, and obtaining, IP rights in Russia. As such, Rospatent now issues certificates of protection for patents, trademarks, utility models and industrial designs in electronic form by default upon payment of the registration fee only. Previously, applicants were required to pay an issuance fee of 1500 RUB for the obtaining of a certificate for patents, utility models, and designs, and 2000 RUB for trademarks. Additionally, a charge of 2000 RUB will apply if an applicant opts for the issuance of a certificate in paper form.
With the implementation of the electronic certificate of protection comes a corresponding new fee for obtaining a duplicate electronic copy thereof, amounting to 800 RUB. If, however, the applicant wishes to obtain this duplicate copy in paper form, a cost of 2000 RUB will be incurred.
Further alterations to the IP fee schedule of Russia have been outlined by Rospatent, and are due to enter into force from August 1, 2021. As per these amendments, a single fee of 12,500 RUB now applies for requesting substantive examination in respect of patents for the first independent claim, with each additional independent claim thereafter incurring a fee of 9200 RUB. Previously, these fees were charged in cases whereby an examination request was filed at the same time as the application, whilst if requested after the filing of the application, the fees constituted 4700 RUB for the first independent claim, 2800 RUB for each additional independent claim up to the fifth, and 5400 RUB for each further independent claim.
Additionally, a 50% reduction in fees will be available to applicants who opt to submit preliminary search information and patentability opinion reports prepared by scientific or educational organizations accredited by Rospatent.
The alterations to the intellectual property fees in Russia illustrate an ongoing endeavour to move toward a more paper-free approach to IP protection, as well as providing a more consistent fee structure, and incentives to apply for IP rights in the nation.