Annual maintenance fees for pending and granted applications in EPO (European Patent Office)
Annual fees for maintenance of a European Patent application or granted European Patent (non-PCT)
European patents are granted for a period of 20 years from the filing date. Maintenance fees apply to pending applications and granted patents.
Supplementary protection certificates for a maximum of five years may be requested for products that need to satisfy certain regulatory requirements and obtain marketing authorization, e.g. medicinal (human and veterinary) or plant protection products.
Annuities are payable from the third year of the filing date with the payment being due on the last day of the month containing the anniversary of the filing date. The fee in respect of the third year should be paid not earlier than six months before the due date. All subsequent fees may not be paid earlier than three months before they fall due.
If the maintenance fee is not paid on the due date, it still can be paid during six months after the due date alongside a corresponding surcharge.
Annual fees for maintenance of a patent application or granted patent designating EPO (PCT)
PCT applications granted by the EPO are valid for 20 years from the European filing date.
Pending applications as well as granted patents are subject to payment of the renewal fees for the third and each subsequent year of the international filing date. The payment should be made before the last day of the month that contains the anniversary of the filing date.
The renewal fee for the third year may not be paid earlier than six months before it is due. For all subsequent renewal fees, the payment period starts three months before the due date.
If the due date for the renewal fee payment falls within the 31-month period, it can be paid up to the end of the 31-month period without surcharge.
Late payment of the renewal fee can be made within six months after the expiration of the 31-month period upon payment of a 50% surcharge.
Restoration of a European Patent application
If the renewal fee is not paid within an additional six-month period, the application is considered to be withdrawn. A request for re-establishment of rights should be filed with the EPO to revive the application.