Changes to IPONZ patent and trade mark fees
September 27, 2019
Amendments to the fees regulations for the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) will come into force on 13 February 2020. These amendments follow a routine review by IPONZ of its patent and trade mark fees to identify areas for change in order to recover its costs effectively.
In brief, patent fees are increasing, whereas trade mark fees are decreasing.
Key points to take awayTo save money on official fees:
|
Fee changes to look out for
A number of patent and trade mark fees have been revised. Full details can be found here. Some of the key changes are:
-
Increased patent renewal fees, application maintenance fees and service fees, including:
|
Patents Fees and Penalties |
Old Fee |
New Fee |
|
Filing complete specification under the Patents Act 1953 |
$250 |
$500 |
|
Request for examination or re-examination |
$500 |
$750 |
|
Renewal fee due on the 10th to 14th anniversary of the filing date of the complete specification |
$200 |
$450 |
|
Renewal fee due on the 15th to 19th anniversary of the filing date of the complete specification |
$350 |
$1000 |
-
An introduction of new patent fees for ‘excess claims’ in complicated patent applications ($120 for each 5th claim over 25 total claims).
-
Decreased trade mark application and renewal fees, including:
|
Trade Marks Fees and Penalties |
Old Fee |
New Fee |
|
Applications to register a trade mark or series of trademarks (including adding a class to an existing application) |
$150 |
$100 |
|
Renewal of a trade mark registration, per class |
$350 |
$200 |
What impact will this have?
For patent owners, the takeaway message is to consider what action can be taken before 13 February 2020 in order to save money on official fees. For example, those who are yet to request examination of a patent application or are considering applying for leave to amend the specification after acceptance will be able to take advantage of the current fees if these requests are filed before 13 February 2020. In a similar vein, there are also substantial increases in patent renewal fees, particularly for years 15 to 19, so patent owners should consider renewing their patents before 13 February 2020.
On the other hand, trade mark owners should delay taking action until after 13 February 2020. In particular, trade mark owners who can delay renewing trade mark registrations until after 13 February 2020 should do so. Going forward, trade mark applicants using the pre-approved list of classification terms for their trade mark specification will be able to take advantage of discounted filing fees.
We can expect to see these amendments introduced to the costs for all trade mark and patent applications from 13 February 2020.
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