Tsubame IP Law Firm

The costs of the Japanese Patent Office for the filing of the request for examination as well as for annuities will change as of April 1st, 2019. The cost of the request for examination (*) of a patent application based on a PCT application increases from the current 106,000 yen by about 17% to 124,000 yen. This price increase applies to all patents for which the examination request is filed after April 1st, 2019.

On the other hand, at the same time the Japanese Patent Office will reduce the costs of examination request fees and annuities (1st to 10th annual fees) for small and medium-sized enterprises and venture companies etc. up to a maximum of 66%. These discounts will be available to a large number of applicants starting from April 1^st, 2019. The Japanese Patent Office has also simplified the procedures for reduction requests.

Whether an applicant is defined as a small or medium-sized enterprise or as a venture etc. is defined by the Japanese Patent Office on the basis of the company's founding years, the service content of the company, the number of employees and the capital. This discount system applies equally to domestic and foreign companies.

TSUBAME Patent Attorney Firm offers the request for 5000 yen per patent application. The request will be filed according to the content of the questionnaire filled out by you.

 

	Old Official Fee	New Official Fee
Examination fee for ordinary patent applications	118,000 yen + number of claims × 2,400 yen	138,000 yen + number of claims × 4,000 yen
Examination fee for patent applications based on int'l patent applications for which the Japanese Patent Office has prepared the international search report	71,000 yen + number of claims × 2,400 yen	83,000 yen + number of claims × 2,400 yen
Examination fee for patent applications based on int'l patent applications for which a patent office other than the JPO has prepared the international search report	106,000 yen + number of claims × 3,600 yen	124,000 yen + number of claims × 3,600 yen

*According to the Japanese Patent Law, a request for examination has to be filed within 3 years from the filing date (international filing date for PCT application, filing date of Paris Convention Application).

 

	Details of the discount
Small and Medium Businesses/Natural persons	Examination Fee: reduced by 50% Annuity Fee (1. - 10. Annuities): reduced by 50%
Ventures/Natural persons	Examination Fee: reduced by 33% Annuity Fee (1. - 10. Annuities): reduced by 33%
Universities / State Institutes	Examination Fee: reduced by 50% Annuity Fee (1. - 10. Annuities): reduced by 50%

 

TSUBAME Patent Attorney Firm assists you with the filing of your patents, utility models, designs and trademarks as well as with rights management in Japan, China and Korea. Please feel free to contact us.