Changes to Patent and Trade Mark Fees Imminent

Following feedback from submissions sought during the middle of 2018 IPONZ has now submitted and received Cabinet approval for its Fees Review, which will involve amendments to patent and trade mark fees and hence regulations.

The implementation date, which has yet to be notified, will be notified a minimum of 3-months before its effective date. Notable changes include:

• Patent renewal and application maintenance fees will generally double, but will more than double for renewals from the 10th anniversary onwards.
• The fee for requesting patent examination or re-examination will increase by 50%.
• An excess claim fee will be introduced per set of up to each 5 claims in excess of 30.
• The complete specification application fee will double and increases of even greater magnitude will apply for amendment after acceptance and restoration requests.
• The trade mark application and renewal fees will reduce. The degree of the reduction for application fees will be determined by whether the application is based on pre-application advice received from IPONZ or whether the pick-list of pre-approved classification terms are used.

Author: Quinn Miller

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