Official fees increase in Venezuela

Following the notification on the official fees increase, which was published by Venezuela's Autonomous Service of Intellectual Property (SAPI) on February 22, 2018, the new amounts of general fees were finally established on August 21, 2018. These new amounts are considered to be applicable from February 22, 2018, despite the fact that payment of all official fees for foreigners continues to remain suspended, as of the beginning of February 2018. This suspension is a temporary measure until the SAPI stipulates all the new official fees and payment methods.

The considerable increase concerns primarily the fees, which do not depend on the tax unit. The latter, in its turn, has also recently risen from 850 to 1,200 VEF.

Thus, the official search fee for a wordmark or figurative mark is now approximately 240 USD, and for a combined mark it is approximately 475 USD. The procedural fees charged for filing an application relating to a wordmark/figurative mark have risen in total to 625 USD and for a combined mark to 855 USD. Unlike other fees, the fees for a trademark renewal, recordals of change, assignment and licence for registered trademarks have been decreased to approximately 165 USD per each action.

The fees associated with patents, utility models and designs have also increased. The official search fee currently constitutes approximately 237 USD. The filing of a patent, utility model or design application now costs approximately 930 USD, including mandatory publications and other procedures. The fees for each type of recordal (change, assignment and licence) for granted patents have been established at 165 USD.

Many IP agents are expressing concern about such a significant increase and respectfully ask the SAPI to reconsider the fee amounts. In the meantime, the tendency of the substantial fees growth in Venezuela can be traced over the course of the last several years. With raising the said fees, alongside other measures, the current Venezuelan government is striving to overcome the economic crisis and inflation in the country.