FEES
Introduction of the euro and amendment of the Rules relating to Fees
By decision of 10 December 19981, the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation has made certain changes to the Rules relating to Fees as from 2 March 1999. The effects on payments to the European Patent Office (EPO) are as follows:
1. euro and new equivalents
As from 2 March 1999, all EPO fees, costs and prices can be paid in euro2 as well as in the existing currencies.
The euro will replace the Deutsche Mark as the EPO reference currency. The fees schedule in force as from 2 March 1999 (published as a supplement to Official Journal 1/1999) will include an additional column for the euro, equivalents - for the first time - for the Deutsche Mark, and new equivalents in the currencies of certain contracting states.
The new equivalents in the currencies of the European Union member states participating in the euro area have been calculated to two decimal places in accordance with European Commission rules, and no longer contain any safety margins. These equivalents will not change any more, because the exchange rates against the euro have been irrevocably fixed. The equivalents in the currencies of EPC contracting states not participating in the euro area will continue to be fixed by the President of the EPO in accordance with existing guidelines3.
2. Methods of payment
From 2 March 1999 it will no longer be possible to make payments in cash on EPO premises or by money order. These methods of payment have been discontinued because they are hardly ever used in practice, and on those few occasions when they are used cause considerable administrative work. Cash payments into one of the European Patent Organisation's bank or Giro accounts are not affected by this change.
3. Services, information products, deposit accounts, debiting procedure
For more information about invoices for services and information products, and about deposit accounts and the automatic debiting procedure, see OJ EPO 1998, 499, 1999, 42, and the Supplement to the present issue.