The UK Intellectual Property Office, the operating name of the Patent Office recently raised official fees in respect of UK patent applications.

36% Increase In Official UKIPO Patent Fees

The new fees are now as follows:

Patent filing and prosecution to grant for a single inventive concept: £230 GBP

Lifetime maintenance fees for years 4 to 20: £4,550 GBP.

The total lifetime cost of official fees for a UK patent are now £4,780 GBP, a 36% increase on their previous amounts. However, the Patent Office do tend to avoid changing official fees often, and it is likely that the new fees will not be changed for another year or more.  

The total cost of applying for and maintaining a UK patent over its lifetime, not including any enforcement of the patent rights is made up of Patent Attorney's professional fees, Official fees payable to the UK Patent Office, and fees payable for professionally prepared patent drawings.  Typically at today's prices the lifetime cost of a typical patent over its complete 20 year term is of the order of £10,000 to £20,000 GBP, (plus value added tax for UK companies and individuals).


Article Published May 27th, 2010