Article 64

EUROPEAN PATENT OFFICE

Fees

Guidance for the payment of fees, expenses and prices

I. Rules relating to Fees (current text) and schedule of fees

The fees guidance currently applicable is set out in OJ EPO 2014, A37, taking into consideration the changed amounts of fees for international applications (OJ EPO 2015, A33).

The current schedule of fees and expenses of the EPO is set out in supplementary publication 3, OJ EPO 2014.

Fee information is also published on the EPO website: www.epo.org/fees.

II. Important information about debit orders from deposit accounts

Online services offer the most efficient way to make fee payments, ensuring that they are processed rapidly.

But if you still want to submit hard-copy debit orders, please note that since 1 April 2014 it has been mandatory to use the standard forms (EPO Form 1010, PCT/RO/101 or PCT/IPEA/401) (OJ EPO 2014, A26). Fee payments made using these forms must also be filed separately, i.e. not in letters or other communications.

Any debit orders nonetheless filed in letters or other communications rather than with the standard forms are likely to suffer considerable delays in processing.

For more information about EPO online services, visit www.epo.org/applying/online-services.html