Important new developments related to Patents in Europe

  1. UPC: Ratification of the UPC agreement by Germany   

Although with some delay, Germany has finally announced in a statement of the federal Ministry of Justice that it has ratified the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court. The specific date on which the UPC will start is defined by the first day of the fourth month after the deposit of the German instrument of ratification and, thus, the UPC will enter into force on June 1, 2023.

The sunrise period for opting-out will be initiated on March 1, 2023, which will offer applicants and patentees before the EPO the opportunity to exclude the UPC’s competence for possible revocation actions and align these competences solely to the national courts.

Furthermore, there seems to be a reasonable interest in the new system as announced by the EPO indicating that: „Since the EPO launched its transitional measures on 1 January to encourage an early uptake of the new system, more than 2 200 requests for unitary effect and/or for delay of grant have been filed.“ Our qualified attorneys are pleased and look forward to assisting all our clients in any matters concerning to the new system. 

  1. Increase of annuity fees for European patents (effective: April 1, 2023)

Based on a recent decision of the President of the EPO the Office´s fees and expenses will be increased by April 1, 2023. The following tables give an overview about the official fees falling due upon entry of the European regional phase of a PCT application (table 1) and the annuity fees for EP patent applications (table 2) before and after April 1, 2023:

Official feeFee before April 1, 2023Fee from April 1, 2023
Filing fee (online)EUR 130.00EUR 135.00
Search feeEUR 1390.00EUR 1460.00
Designation feeEUR 630.00EUR 660.00
Examination feeEUR 1750.00EUR 1840.00
Additional fee for the 36th and subseq.(EUR 16.00)(EUR 17.00)
Additional claim for the 16th and subseq.(EUR 250.00)(EUR 265.00)
Additional claim for the 51th and subseq.(EUR 630.00)(EUR 660.00)
Patent YearFee before April 1, 2023Fee from April 1, 2023
3EUR 505.00EUR 530.00
4EUR 630.00EUR 660.00
5EUR 880.00EUR 925.00
6EUR 1125.00EUR 1180.00
7EUR 1245.00EUR 1305.00
8EUR 1370.00EUR 1440.00
9EUR 1495.00EUR 1570.00
10EUR 1690.00EUR 1775.00


Therefore, an applicant can save at least EUR 195.00, when entering the European regional phase of a PCT application prior to April 1, 2023.

Please rest assured that we will keep you further duly informed about any new developments.

However, if you have any questions or wish to obtain advice regarding the upcoming new developements, please do not hesitate to contact your usual attorney of the highly experienced team of Dr. Schön, Neymeyr & Partner mbB or email us via mail@schoen-partner.de.

Sincerely yours,

Dr. Christoph Schön

Ulrich Neymeyr

Dr. Susanne Schön

Inhaltsverzeichnis