Intellectual property legislative and fee schedule changes across the globe
Norway
As of March 1, 2024, a new intellectual property fee schedule will be implemented in Norway. The amended fees comprise alterations across the board in relation to patents, trademarks, and designs, and constitute an approximate 30% rise throughout.
Patent
As per the amended schedule, the fee in relation to the filing of a national patent application, as well as for European patent applications transferred to national patents, is set to rise from 4,650 NOK to 6,050 NOK. The discounted fee for the filing of a patent application for individuals and small businesses will inflate to 1,100 NOK from 850 NOK.
For all applicants, the filing fee for each patent claim beyond the first ten will increase from 250 NOK to 325 NOK. Further, the cost associated with the granting of a patent will rise to 1,600 NOK from 1,200 NOK.
The patent annuity fees are set to rise across each year respectively, with the cost for each year between the first and the third rising from 700 NOK to 910 NOK, the tenth from 3,200 NOK to 4,160 NOK, the fifteenth from 4,850 NOK to 6,310 NOK, and the twentieth from 6,500 NOK to 8,450 NOK.
Trademark
Regarding trademark costs, a new fee of 3,800 NOK will be payable for the filing of a trademark application, rising from the current 2,900 NOK, whilst the filing fee for each additional class beyond the first in an application will increase from 750 NOK to 1,000 NOK.
The trademark renewal fee will inflate from 2,600 NOK to 3,400 NOK, and the renewal for each additional class beyond the first will cost 1,300 NOK as opposed to the current 1,000 NOK.
Design
An application for an industrial design will soon incur a cost of 2,470 NOK, increasing from 1,900 NOK, and the fee for each design in an application thereafter will cost 1,690 NOK rising from 1,300 NOK.
With regard to design right maintenance, the cost for the first 5-year renewal period is set to inflate from 2,900 NOK to 3,770 NOK, whilst the second 5-year renewal period will rise from 3,500 NOK to 4,550 NOK. The fee for the third renewal period will constitute 5,330 NOK, increasing from 4,100 NOK, and the fifth from 5,000 NOK to 6,500 NOK.
Lastly, the renewal fee for each design beyond the first will increase from 1,300 NOK to 1,690 NOK.
Slovenia
The European Patent Office (EPO) and the Slovenian Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) recently signed an administrative Working Agreement aiming to provide financial support for Slovenian IP rights holders and applicants.
As a result, a reduced fee in relation to searches conducted by the EPO has been introduced. The Working Agreement will apply to new patent applications filed with the Slovenian Office from January 1, 2024 onwards, as well as to granted national patents which were filed on or after January 1, 2015.
The fee reduction has been set at a sizable 80% discount for those who meet the requirements, meaning that the search fee payable will constitute 493.60 EUR.
The discounted search fee is applicable to those who file for patent protection with the SIPO, as well as IP right holders with patents in Slovenia who are domiciled or have their principal place of business in the jurisdiction. This requirement is not dependent on the IP applicant/right holder's nationality.
Those eligible will be able to utilize the reduced fee to request up to a maximum of five written opinions per year for natural persons and ten per year for universities, research institutes, and non-profit organizations, whilst an unlimited amount is available for small and medium-sized enterprises. The SIPO will accept a maximum of 400 reduced fee search requests per year in total.
The Working Agreement and subsequent reduced search fee demonstrates an ongoing commitment to providing a cost effective equitable solution for eligible applicants in protecting their IP, encouraging further filings in the jurisdiction.
PCT
As of January 1, 2024, certain fees with regard to patents filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) were amended, with the fees differing per jurisdiction as a result of altering exchange rates.
As per the amended fee rate, the international filing fee has increased by a small percentage to 1,381 EUR from 1,378 EUR with regard to Finnish PCT fees, whilst the same fee in relation to UK PCT costs has risen from 1,197 GBP to 1,200 GBP.
The new reduction for the international filing fee for electronic applications in character-coded format in relation to Finnish PCT costs has increased from 207 EUR to 208 EUR, and from 180 GBP to 181 GBP in relation to the UK.
EUIPO and EPO
The European Commission, alongside the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), recently signed an agreement facilitating the implementation of the EU Regional Program to support the IP sphere of Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia.
The Program, jointly financed by the European Commission and the EUIPO to a total of €4 million, is set to run for a total of four years and is hoped to facilitate progression towards the harmonization of national legislation in the aforementioned countries with European IP law.
The commencement of the implementation process will see measures put in place for supportive funding grants as well as for ongoing professional training in the IP field. The proposed training is particularly intended to facilitate the professional development of judges for the IP courts of Ukraine, with the aim of creating a strong IP justice system in the country.
Demonstrating an ongoing effort to facilitate a more sustainable and eco-friendly IP field, the European Patent Office (EPO) has further solidified its move toward a digital IP system by abolishing postal acknowledgments of receipt as of February 1, 2024. This alteration only impacts matters in relation to communications in paper form with the EPO.
From the aforementioned date, summonses and decisions issued in paper form will no longer include acknowledgements of receipt.
Moreover, applicants will no longer be able to opt to receive acknowledgements for subsequently filed documents in paper form as of February 1. The only exception to the newly enforced procedure is for a small number of European patent applications newly filed which are still to be acknowledged via post.
Further alterations to the IP system of the EPO alongside the abolishment of paper acknowledgements include the discontinuation of certain forms, and the implementation of exemptions to page fees in relation to parent application’s ST.25 sequence listing (in PDF) additionally filed as part of a divisional application.
As per the exemptions, which were introduced towards the end of 2023, the fee in relation to a parent application’s ST.25 sequence listings additionally filed or contained in the certified copy under Rule 40(3) EPC will be excluded from the overall page fee calculation.
The recent procedural changes and collaborative initiatives introduced in the European region by way of the EUIPO and the EPO signify a progressive move towards a unified and cohesive IP field which, in turn, is hoped to provide for a more stable environment for innovation to flourish.