Did you know that on 1 October 2020, IP Australia changed its official fees for IP services? To assist with an understanding of the changes, we provide a brief summary.
As of 1 October 2020, IP Australia significantly increased some of their patent, trade mark, design and plant breeders rights (PBR) fees. The fee changes have the greatest impact on patent fees (with renewals being the hardest hit); and a major impact on trade mark fees occurring during the application process. Designs and PBR saw only modest changes, but in general, the fees were still increased. The following changes have been reproduced from information provided by IP Australia on their website.
Patent Service Fees
Filing fees for standard and innovation patent applications remained unchanged except where patent applicants are unable to electronically file the application, in which case a filing fee increase of $100 now applies.
The previous excess claim fee ($110 per claim in excess of 20 claims) has been abolished and replaced with a tiered structure, outlined below.
Type of Excess Claim Fee |
Old Fee (AUD) per Claim |
New Fee (AUD) per Claim |
| Claims 21 to 30 | 110 | 125 |
| Claim 31 and over | 110 |
250 |
| Each claim in excess of 20 claims added post-acceptance | 110 | 250 |
Finally, renewal fees increased significantly, and particularly in the final five years of a standard patent. Renewal fees for pharmaceutical patents which benefit from a patent term extension saw an even greater fee increase.
On a positive note, patent applicants will now benefit from the change in the fees associated with voluntarily requesting a Preliminary Search and Opinion, as this fee has now been decreased from $2,200 to $950.
Trade Mark Fees
The most significant change to trade mark fees affected.
Applicants who do not make use of the “Picklist”. Under the new fee structure, filing fees for non-Picklist applications increased to $400 per class. The costs for adding an additional class of goods/services to an application during the examination phase also rose to $400.
The good news is that the increased filing fees do not apply to applications lodged using the Headstart Request service or using the Picklist. Renewal fees for trade marks have remain unchanged.
Trade mark hearing fees have also been changed. However, changes to trade mark opposition fees have been placed on hold for now.
Design Fees
The most significant change to the fees for designs was the introduction of a $200 fee for having more than one design in the same category.
Plant Breeder’s Rights Fees
New Plant Breeder’s Rights applications have also now increased to $400. Additionally, the Qualified Person’s (QP) fee has increased with a designation of a QP being raised to $240 per 3 years. Renewal of a QP was likewise raised to $240 per 3 years.