Fee reductions and compensation for smaller applicants
Applicants to the EPO may qualify for reductions or compensation for certain fees in accordance with one or more schemes, each having different criteria.
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Fee reductions for small and micro-entities
As part of its fee policy reform the EPO introduced a new support scheme for micro-entities in April 2024, targeting users who are smaller and/or less familiar with the patent system.
Thanks to this micro-entity support scheme, natural persons, non-profit organisations, universities and public research organisations, as well as microenterprises having fewer than 10 full-time staff and an annual turnover or balance sheet of no more than €2 million, can all benefit from a 30% reduction in all main fees in the patent grant procedure, provided they have filed fewer than five applications in the last five years.
Other fee reduction and compensation schemes
Further measures applicable to the same applicants mentioned above, but also to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) include:
- a reduction of the filing and examination fees when the European patent application or the request for examination is in an official language of a contracting state other than English, French or German;
- a compensation lump sum for Unitary Patent-related translation costs;
- a reduced appeal fee and
- fee reductions for users of the EPO’s online filing service MyEPO.
With the targeted fee discounts, the EPO is living up to the commitment of helping underrepresented key players in the innovation ecosystem to protect, at lower cost, their most valuable inventions resulting from extensive investments of time and effort over many years.
How to request the fee reduction
To request the reductions just check the right box in the electronic form provided by the EPO, e.g.
- form 1001 (“Request for grant of a European patent”),
- form 1200 (“Entry into the European phase”) or,
- for pending applications use form 1038 (“Letter accompanying subsequently filed items”) together with form 1011.
Frequently asked questions
FAQ on reductions for small and micro-entities
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Am I eligible for micro-entity fee reductions?
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