Community Trade Mark (CTM) fee reductions as of May 01, 2009, have now been confirmed by OHIM.
Reductions overall of 40% have been approved by the Commission, and will be effective as of May 01, 2009.
This is implemented as an increase in the filing fee, with abolition of the registration fee.
The official fee changes are as follows:
| Community trade mark applications | Current fee (€) | New fee (€)* |
|---|---|---|
| CTM application fee (paper) | 900 | 1050 |
| CTM application fee (e-filing) | 750 | 900 |
| CTM application fee – collective mark | 1300 | 1800 |
| CTM registration fee | 850 | 0 |
| CTM registration class fee | 150 | 0 |
| CTM registration fee – collective mark | 1700 | 0 |
| CTM registration class fee – collective mark | 300 | 0 |
| Addition fee for late payment of registration fee | 25% (max 750) | 0 |
| International trade mark applications Madrid Protocol registration fee |
1450 | 870 |
| Madrid Protocol registration class fee | 300 | 150 |
| Madrid Protocol fee – collective mark | 2700 | 1620 |
| Madrid Protocol class fee – collective mark | 600 | 300 |
The new Madrid fees become effective 3 months after the Commission notifies WIPO, i.e. 3 months after the effective date. During those 3 months, Madrid applicants will continue to pay the old fees. If protection is refused for one of those applications, OHIM will refund a portion of the fees according to today’s rules. Once the new Madrid fees come into effect, there will be no refunds in the event of refusal.
The most relevant of these changes are summarised below:
- The official fees for filing a CTM online covering up to 3 classes currently amount to €750. As from the relevant date, the filing fees will increase slightly to €900 but this will be far outweighed (see below) by the abolition of the registration fees;
- The official registration fees for a CTM covering up to 3 classes are currently €850. However, as from the relevant date, these will no longer be payable;
- Therefore, the total official fees for a CTM (including filing and registration fees) will decrease from €1600 to €900, as of the relevant date.
- If you have pending CTMs, where at the relevant date you have not yet received a notification from OHIM asking for payment of the registration fees, then no registration fees will be payable, so the total official fees for the CTM will be €750; and
- All additional class fees at filing remain at €150.
Article Published April 24, 2009
