8. Claims fees

According to R. 45(1) EPC any European patent application comprising more than fifteen claims incurs payment of claims fees in respect of the sixteenth and each subsequent claim. Before 1 April 2008 the number of fee-exempt claims was ten (R. 45(1) EPC in the version in effect before that date and R. 31(1) EPC 1973). For international applications entering the European phase the corresponding provision is R. 162(1) EPC (R. 110(1) EPC 1973).

The Legal Board ruled in case J 9/84 (OJ 1985, 233) that R. 31(1) EPC 1973 was to be interpreted as meaning that claims numbered 1 to 10 upon filing of the European patent application – or transmittal to the EPO of the international application under the PCT – were exempt from fees, and that claims numbered 11 onwards were not. Accordingly, abandoning a fee-exempt claim after filing – or transmittal – did not have the effect that its fee exemption was transferred to another claim.