IP Australia have announced changes to some of their fees, effective from 1st October 2020.

The changes are intended to defer some of the costs to the renewal phase of an IP right's lifecycle, so that the fees can be kept lower in the formative years when most of the costs are incurred. These early years also coincide with a time when the applicant may have yet to establish an income stream from their IP right.

The following provides a summary of the major changes to the official fees in relation to patents, trade marks and designs. We encourage applicants and owners to take action where possible, prior to these changes coming into effect on the 1st October 2020.

Patents

Excess Claims Fees

A new structure will be implemented in relation to excess claims fees.

Under the old structure, an excess claims fee is required for each claim in excess of 20, at acceptance or post acceptance.

Under the new structure, the threshold number of claims for excess claims fees to apply remains at 20. For the first ten claims over 20, the excess claim fee will be $125 per claim. From the 31st claim onwards, the excess claim fee will increase to $250 per claim. Notably, post-acceptance amendment resulting in the number of claims exceeding 20 will incur a fee of $250 per claim.

 

Excess Claims Fee Per Claim Old Fee New Fee
At acceptance the number of claims is greater than 20 & equal to or less than 30 $110 $125
At acceptance the number of claims is greater than 30 $110 $250

Renewal Fees

Changes to renewal fees are significant and worth taking into account when scheduling or structuring payment.

Compared to a flat rate that increased stepwise every five years under the old structure, the annual fee under the new structure will increase progressively each year.

In particular, for pharmaceutical patents with an extended term beyond the standard 20-year term, the annual fee will ramp up to $8,000 at the 24th anniversary. Owners of such patents can save costs by paying a lump sum covering the renewal fees remaining within the extended term.

Patent Renewal Fees Old Fee New Fee
Standard Patent – 5th anniversary $300 $315
Standard Patent – 6th anniversary $300 $335
Standard Patent – 7th anniversary $300 $360
Standard Patent – 8th anniversary $300 $390
Standard Patent – 9th anniversary $300 $425
Standard Patent – 10th anniversary $550 $490
Standard Patent – 11th anniversary $550 $585
Standard Patent – 12th anniversary $550 $710
Standard Patent – 13th anniversary $550 $865
Standard Patent – 14th anniversary $550 $1,050
Standard Patent – 15th anniversary $1,250 $1,280
Standard Patent – 16th anniversary $1,250 $1,555
Standard Patent – 17th anniversary $1,250 $1,875
Standard Patent – 18th anniversary $1,250 $2,240
Standard Patent – 19th anniversary $1,250 $2,650
Pharmaceutical Patent -20th anniversary $2,550 $4,000
Pharmaceutical Patent -21st anniversary $2,550 $5,000
Pharmaceutical Patent -22nd anniversary $2,550 $6,000
Pharmaceutical Patent -23rd anniversary $2,550 $7,000
Pharmaceutical Patent -24th anniversary $2,550 $8,000

Trade Marks

Application Fees

Trade mark application fees will increase slightly to $400 per class for non-picklist standard applications and $550 per class for non-picklist series applications.

Designs

Application Fees

For applications including multiple designs, there will be an additional fee of $200 for each additional design other than the first one. For more information regarding multiple designs applications, click here to read our previous post (The Australian Designs Checklist).

Renewal Fees

Renewal fees for designs will increase from $320 to $400.

Click here to view the full list of IP Australia's official fee changes.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.