EPO 2024 fee increases

EPO 2024 fee increases

The European Patent Office (EPO) has announced that many of its fees will be increasing as of 1 April 2024.

For most of the fees, the increase is by about 5%. However, for some of the fees the increase is up to 30%, such as for the third and fourth annuities.

The new rates will apply to official fees paid on or after 1st April 2024 and so for some fees where the applicant has a choice over the timing of payment, savings may be made by proceeding before April.

Consider anticipating payments

We would particularly recommend clients to consider the savings that can be made by anticipating payments for:

Renewal fees: fall due on the last day of the month containing the anniversary of the date of filing of the European patent application. The payment can be made 6 months in advance in respect of the third year and 3 months in advance for the other years.

EPO regional phase: consider anticipating the fee payments in respect of pending PCT applications. It should be kept in mind that without an explicit request for early processing, the EPO will wait until the 31-month period has expired to process the international application. Accordingly, the payments can be made early without actually anticipating the prosecution of the application.

Divisional applications: make a decision on the opportunity of filing a divisional application before April and save on filing and search fees as well as on the (often many) back renewal fees due for the divisional application.

For more information on the increase in fees, and to discuss your options in filing early to save costs, please get in touch with your usual Office Freylinger attorney, or contact us at office@freylinger.com.

Obtenez un financement pour vos dépôts de marques, modèles et brevets !

Obtenez un financement pour vos dépôts de marques, modèles et brevets !

Bonne nouvelle ! En 2024, l’Office de l’Union européenne pour la propriété intellectuelle (EUIPO), en collaboration avec la Commission européenne et les offices nationaux de la propriété intellectuelle de l’UE, renouvelle son soutien financier aux petites et moyennes entreprises (PME) de l’Union européenne.

Le Fonds pour les PME, nommé « ideas powered for business », est un programme destiné à aider les petites et moyennes entreprises (PME) établies dans l’UE à protéger leurs droits de propriété intellectuelle (PI), et vise notamment des subventions (sous forme de chèques/Vouchers) couvrant les frais d’enregistrement des marques, des modèles et des brevets. Cette aide financière permet de demander le remboursement d’une partie des frais officiels engagés lors du dépôt de marques, de modèles et de brevets.

Ideas powered for business logo

Selon le territoire désigné dans la demande, il est possible de bénéficier d’un remboursement allant de 50 à 75 % du montant total des frais officiels engagés, avec un plafond par subvention demandée :aider les petites et moyennes entreprises (PME) établies dans l’UE à protéger leurs droits de propriété intellectuelle (PI).

  • Pour les marques et dessins ou modèles, jusqu’à 75 % des taxes de dépôt, plafonné à 1 000 € ;
  • Pour les brevets, jusqu’à 75 % des taxes de recherche, de dépôt et/ou de délivrance et de publication auprès des Offices, plafonné à 1 500 €.

Nouveauté cette année :

  • Un remboursement de 50% des frais de rédaction pour une demande de brevet européen peut également être obtenu, plafonné à 2 000 €. Ce qui porte à 3 500 € la subvention brevet.

Afin d’être éligible, le demandeur doit être une micro, petite ou moyenne entreprise établie dans l’un des États membres de l’UE et correspondre à la définition d’une PME telle que développée dans la recommandation 2033/361/EC de la Commission du 6 mai 2003.

Les demandes de subventions pour 2024 peuvent déjà être soumises !

L’Office Freylinger et ses spécialistes en propriété intellectuelle peuvent vous aider à vérifier votre éligibilité à ces subventions et à effectuer les démarches auprès de l’EUIPO.

Attention : les demandes de subvention doivent être déposées et acceptées AVANT de procéder aux dépôts. Il est donc préférable de ne pas attendre le dernier moment !

N’hésitez pas à nous contacter pour obtenir plus d’informations sur les modalités pratiques de cette subvention. L’Office Freylinger se fera un plaisir de vous accompagner dans cette démarche !

Les start-ups qui possèdent des brevets et des marques ont dix fois plus de chances d’obtenir un financement

Les start-ups qui possèdent des brevets et des marques ont dix fois plus de chances d’obtenir un financement

La détention de droits de propriété intellectuelle (PI) renforce la capacité des start-ups à lever des fonds, en particulier pour les industries de haute technologie dont les besoins en capitaux sont plus élevés

L’Office Européen des Brevets (OEB) et l’Office de l’Union Européenne pour la Propriété Intellectuelle (EUIPO) viennent de publier une nouvelle étude conjointe soulignant à quel point les brevets et les marques peuvent favoriser la réussite des start-ups européennes. Il apparait qu’en moyenne, les start-ups qui détiennent  ces deux types de droits de PI au cours de leur phase d’amorçage ou de croissance ont jusqu’à 10,2 fois plus de chances d’obtenir un financement.

En moyenne, 29 % des start-ups européennes ont déposé des droits de propriété intellectuelle, avec des différences importantes entre les secteurs d’activité. La biotechnologie est le secteur le plus représenté, avec près de la moitié des start-ups utilisant des brevets ou des marques déposées. Parmi les autres secteurs figurent les sciences et l’ingénierie (avec 25 % d’utilisateurs de brevets et 38 % d’utilisateurs de marques), les soins de santé (20 % d’utilisateurs de brevets et 40 % d’utilisateurs de marques) et l’industrie manufacturière (20 % d’utilisateurs de brevets et 36 % d’utilisateurs de marques).

Les start-ups du secteur de la “deep tech” sont confrontées à des défis particuliers lorsqu’elles développent des technologies de pointe, car elles requièrent des investissements importants et de longs délais de mise en œuvre. Ces entreprises peuvent tirer profit des brevets et des marques pour attirer des investisseurs “patients”.

Les équipes d’Office Freylinger (juristes et ingénieurs) accompagnent les start-ups pour faire un état des lieux de leur PI et bâtir une stratégie PI sur mesure.

Graphique – source : rapport OEB/EUIPO

Hot air balloon meeting

Hot air balloon meeting

First and successful attempt for Office Freylinger. For the first time, we decided to partner with Pilatre-de-Rozier, the organizer of Grand-Est Mondial Air Ballons 2023, the World’s largest hot air balloon meeting.

On Monday and Tuesday we hosted a reception with clients and colleagues in our lodge in Ballonville Patenaire.

All attendees were charmed by the mass ascent. A magical moment.

And some of us had their first flight in a hot air balloon.

Atelier : le nouveau système du brevet unitaire européen

L’entrée en vigueur du nouveau système du brevet européen est imminente. Il concerne toutes les entreprises. Venez découvrir les bases de ce nouveau système lors de notre événement :

Jeudi 23 mars – 8h30 à 10h30

Petit déjeuner / conférence

Cette fois est la bonne ! La ratification allemande courant février a déclenché le compte à rebours pour l’ouverture des portes de la Juridiction unifiée du brevet : le 1er juin 2023.

Depuis le 1er janvier, les demandeurs de brevets européens ont la possibilité de présenter une requête anticipée en effet unitaire auprès de l’Office Européen des Brevets.

La sunrise period a débuté le 1er mars. Les propriétaires de brevets européens peuvent déposer une requête d’Opt-Out auprès du Greffe, afin de déroger à la compétence exclusive de la JUB.

Les décisions sont à prendre maintenant ! Qu’est-ce que le brevet unitaire ? Quelles implications et coûts ? Quel est le rôle de cette nouvelle juridiction supranationale spécialisée en brevets ? Quel est l’impact sur les brevets existants ? Quelles sont les dispositions transitoires ? Comment fonctionne l’opt-out ? Qui peut le déposer et quand ?

Ces différents aspects seront abordés lors de notre atelier par Philippe OCVIRK – European patent attorney.

Date : 23 mars 2023

Horaires.  8h30 : accueil ; 9h00-10h30 : présentation et questions

Lieu : The City by GINKGO 14-16 Avenue Pasteur L-2310 Luxembourg – Parking Glacis – Tram Limpertsberg/Theâtre

Inscription: office@freylinger.com

Lire les informations sur le brevet unitaire sur notre site :

For the second year in a row, the European Patent Office will increase its official fees as of 1 April 2023

The European Patent Office (EPO) has announced that the official fees charged for European patent applications will be increasing from 1 April 2023. More details of the fee increases can be found on the EPO website.

On average, the official fees will increase by about 5%.

In view of the EPO’s official fee increases, applicants may want to consider the timing for paying fees in relation to their applications to maximise any opportunities to pay lower official fees.

For example, it may be sensible to file a European regional phase application (based on an international (PCT) application) before 1 April 2023, so as to avoid the fee increase. Furthermore, maintenance/renewal fees for European patent applications can be paid up to 3 months in advance of their due date, except for the first fee (for the 3rd year) which can be paid up to 6 months in advance. Filing a divisional application before 1 April 2023 would also bring savings, as would requesting examination and paying designation fees ahead of the due date. 

If you would like advice on this, please get in touch with us.

The unitary patent system will start on 1 June 2023

Last Friday, 17 February 2023, the German Government ratified the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court.

This was the last step required to complete the ratification process of the unitary patent package.

It also triggers the countdown of Article 89 UPCA, whereby the Court will open its doors on 1st June 2023 and Unitary Patents will be available from same date.

We have updated our timeline accordingly

As our readers will know, this is a major change in the European patent landscape.

Decisions have to be taken taken now by patent owners, since early requests for unitary patent protection can be already lodged with the EPO. Furthermore, the German ratification triggers the sunrise period, during which patent proprietors can opt out their European patents from the exclusive competence of the new Court.

Please contact your usual Freylinger patent attorney for questions you may have on the UP and UPC. You may also refer to our news on this topic:

UP/UPC – Postponement of the start of the Sunrise Period

On October 6th 2022, the Unified Patent Court Preparatory Team excitedly shared their implementation roadmap for the Unified Patent Court Agreement. The roadmap had initially planned the final ratification of the UPCA for the second half of December 2022, which would then define the date of entry into force of the UPCA to April 1st 2023 and the start of the Sunrise Period to January 1st 2023.

Unfortunately, in order to give enough time for users to prepare for the new system (and in particular in relation to the authentication keys required to access the Case Management System), the UPC has announced today that the start of the Sunrise Period will be delayed to March 1st 2023.

Accordingly, the date of entry into force of the UPCA and the date of application of the regulations regarding the Unitary Patent will be postponed to June 1st 2023.

The start date of the transitional measures regarding the Unitary Patent seems unchanged. From our understanding, it will thus be possible to file an early request for unitary effect and a request for a delay in issuing the decision to grant a European patent as of January 1st 2023.


Sources: Adjustment of the timeline – Start of the Sunrise Period on 1 March 2023
https://www.epo.org/applying/european/unitary/unitary-patent/transitional-arrangements-for-early-uptake.html

Abolition of the ten days rule and consequences on the calculations of periods

On the 1st November 2023, the ten-day rule will be abolished and documents communicated by the EPO will be deemed to be notified at their indicated date.

Associated periods will thus begin to lapse from the date mentioned on communications by the EPO. These periods expiring inevitably earlier, owners of pending patent applications and their legal representatives will need to adjust their tracking of deadlines.

These changes are part of a policy of adaptation of EPC regulations to the digitization of the procedure of patent granting. Further information available at https://www.epo.org/news-events/news/2022/20221021.html

Webinaire – le nouveau brevet unitaire européen – 16.12.2022

Office Freylinger vous propose un webinaire consacré au système du brevet unitaire européen qui entrera en vigueur au printemps 2023. Il s’agit d’une révolution dans le monde des brevets en Europe.

Le webinaire se tiendra le vendredi 16 décembre de 11h00 à 12h00.

Philippe Ocvirk, European Patent Attorney, présentera ce nouveau système qui est attendu depuis plus de 50 ans et repose sur deux piliers :

  • le brevet européen à effet unitaire (brevet unitaire) – une protection facultative, qui peut être obtenue à la délivrance d’un brevet européen.
  • la création d’une juridiction européenne spécialisée en matière de brevets : la Juridiction unifiée du brevet (JUB).

Le webinaire propose une introduction à ce nouveau système. L’Office européen des brevets a annoncé des mesures transitoires qui permettent d’opter dès le 1er janvier 2023 pour un brevet unitaire à la délivrance du brevet européen. La nouvelle juridiction aura compétence pour tous les brevets européens, unitaires ou classiques, y compris ceux déjà délivrés.

Tous les propriétaires de brevets européens sont donc concernés par le nouveau système.

Inscription gratuite en remplissant ce formulaire :

https://forms.gle/fzCxyKGgR1GHJEMh8

UPC strategies – Considerations on the Opt-Out

The present article presents some considerations on the possibility of opting out patents from the exclusive competence of the Unified Patent Court.

Staying in to benefit from the UPC system

The UPC will include:

  • Judicial judges experimented in patent matters
  • Technical Judges that are likely to have a better understanding of technically complex inventions and a better reasoning on patent infringement.

The new Court will obviously prevent situations of contradictory decisions that may occur when litigating the same case before different national Courts.

The Rules of Proceeding of the UPC are designed to reach decisions within one year, if the defined schedule is respected, thus substantially reducing the duration of proceedings compared to some national Courts.

The UPC is particularly powerful in case of multiple infringements in different European countries, since a decision can be obtained through a single action brought before the UPC and will have effect over all UPC-A member states. Choosing the UPC will, then, significantly reduce the litigation costs in comparison with several litigations to be carried out in different countries.

Reasons to opt out

With the UPC, a European patent can be revoked in all states by a single decision. This will allow third parties and suspected infringers to efficiently challenge the validity, during the whole lifetime of the patents.
Hence European patents obtained before the UPC opening and for which the opposition period has expired will remain at risk of central revocation.

Moreover, the lack of experience and case law from the UPC may make choosing the UPC risky as we do not know yet the position that will be taken by the Court, in particular regarding the validity of patents. Also, UPC rules and procedures are obviously untried; it will take several years to achieve consistency in decisions.

Another element to consider where making the choice to opt out patents is that opt-out must be made by all proprietors and in respect of all of the states for which the European patent has been granted, not only EU member states. The first difficulty that may arise from this rule is to identify the true proprietors of the patent, which will not necessarily be the registered proprietors, especially when patents have been assigned from a third party. Ownership should be checked, although there is no necessity to update/correct registers. The second difficulty is the necessity for all the proprietors to join the opt-out request. As such, it is likely that when litigation arise, the opt out itself may be subject to discussion.

A proprietor having registered an opt-out and wishing to bring an action before the UPC to benefit from its pan-European jurisdiction may opt in again, by withdrawing the opt-out. However, the proprietor may be impeded from opting back in where an action has already been brought before a national Court; the patent is thus locked out of the UPC forever.

Philippe OCVIRK, Partner | European patent attorney

UPC and Opt-Out

UPC and Opt-Out

The Unified Patent Court (UPC) will open its doors in spring 2023. The date of 01.04.2023 has been announced by the Preparatory Committee . Its jurisdiction will extend over all European patents in the territories of EU member states having ratified the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPC-A).
Antagonistically, while the UPC-A creates the long-awaited European patent Court, it also comprises provisions to derogate from its competence, known as ‘opt-out’.

Jurisdiction of the UPC

According to Art. 3 of the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPC-A) the future UPC will have jurisdiction not only over European patents with unitary effect, but also over traditional European patents (‘validated’ patents) and pending applications, and over SPCs, even if these are granted before its entry into force.

During a ‘transitional‘ period however, the national Courts will remain competent to hear cases relating to validated European patents.

Opt-out definition

Opting-out is the option open to patentees and applicants to exclude disputes related to any of their validated European patents (in force or expired) or pending applications from the UPC’s jurisdiction. Any action for infringement or for revocation of an Opted-out European patent may only be heard by the competent national Courts, as is currently the case.
An opt-out has effect in all Member States and for the entire lifetime of the patent.

The UPC Preparatory Committee has decided that there will be no official fee for filing a request for an opt-out. There will however be costs associated with the handling of the opt-out procedure through your patent attorney firm.

For the avoidance of doubt, European patents with unitary effect cannot be opted out.

When to opt out

The registration of opt-outs will only be possible during the limited ‘transitional’ period (7 years, prolongable by 7 years). Practically, opt-out’s can be notified to the UPC Registry by the latest one month before expiry of the transitional period .
It should be noted that opting out will be possible during a ‘sunrise’ period spanning the three months preceding the opening of the UPC. The sunrise period is expected to start on 01.01.2023.

Important note: An Application to opt out a given patent cannot be registered if an action relating to said patent has already been brought before the UPC .

How to opt out

An application to opt out must be lodged with the UPC Registry.
Opt-outs are to be registered on a right per right basis and in the name of each and all proprietors or applicants.
The registers need not be updated, but in case of discrepancy a declaration must be filed alongside, stating that the requesters are entitled to be registered in the national patent registers.

The Application to opt out shall be made in respect of all of the states for which the European patent has been granted or which have been designated in the application.

The opt-out is only effective from the date of entry into the Register.

Withdrawal of the opt-out

An opt-out can be withdrawn at any moment, provided no action has been brought before a national Court .
This opt-in will then be definitive: the patent proprietor will not be able to opt out its European patent again .

If an opt-out application was registered for a pending European patent application, said opt-out will be automatically deemed withdrawn should the patentee decides to request unitary effect (obtain a unitary patent).

Philippe OCVIRK, Partner | European patent attorney