According to the "Announcement of the National Intellectual Property Administration on Adjusting Some Patent Fee Standards and Fee Reduction Policies (No. 594)" and the "Memorandum of Understanding on the Remittance of Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) Fees" signed between the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), from December 1, 2024, the CNIPA will collect international search fees on behalf of the European Patent Office (EPO) for the CNIPA- EPO PCT Pilot Project.
Fee Standards and Currency: The international search fee for PCT applications selecting the EPO as the International Searching Authority is EUR1,845. Based on the latest fee standards published by WIPO, the international search fee collected on behalf of the EPO in Chinese yuan is determined to be CNY14,310.
Scope of Application: Under this project, the CNY standard announced in this notice applies to the international search fee for PCT applications with an international filing date on or after December 1, 2024, which have selected the EPO as the International Searching Authority.
Other fees charged by the EPO, including additional search fees, fees for opposition, preliminary examination request fees and handling fees during the international preliminary examination stage, shall be paid directly to the EPO by the parties concerned.
Payment Method and System Upgrade: When the parties concerned pay the international search fee of the EPO through the CNIPA, the payment method is the same as that for international filing fees. The date when the CNIPA's account receives the payment shall be deemed as the payment date.
For the original text of the Notice, please see the following link: http://www.cnipa.gov.cn/art/2024/11/28/art_75_196322.html
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