Author of this article: Lai Wenwen, ScienBiziP China Process and Information Department

On July 23, 2024, the Ministry of Finance issued a notice on adjusting and optimizing patent fee policies, clarifying the following patent fee items, as follows:

At present, the State Intellectual Property Administration has not yet released the cost standards. We will provide additional explanations after the release.

analysis:

(1) The case itself does not enjoy a fee reduction policy. If the case has an open license, the annual fee can be reduced by 15% during the license period;

(2) If the case itself enjoys a 70% or 85% reduction in fees and has an open license, the applicant can choose the most beneficial reduction ratio. For example, in invention cases, the annual fee within ten years of authorization can enjoy an 85% or 70% reduction. After ten years, if the case is still in the open license period, the full annual fee can enjoy a 15% reduction.

满足减缴条件的申请人，其外观设计国际申请缴纳的第一期和第二期单独指定费将与中国普通专利申请一样可以享有减缴政策。

If the applicant’s (or patentee’s) name or title is changed through a batch request for changes in recorded items, and there is no transfer of rights involved, the recorded item change fee shall be paid for each change.

For example, based on the adjustment of brand image and market positioning, the applicant “Duoduo” company plans to change its name to “Trust Mart”. There are 100 Chinese patent applications, 50 of which plan to apply for batch renaming to the China National Intellectual Property Administration, and the other 50 are ready to be transferred to “Duoduo” company in batch. How much change fee should be paid to the China National Intellectual Property Administration for the change request of these 100 patents?

analysis:

(1) Among them, 50 cases are only for handling changes in the name or title of the applicant (or patentee), and a change fee of 200 yuan can be paid for each change in the recorded information;

(2) Another 50 cases involve the transfer of rights. Although they are both batch processing businesses, they cannot be charged according to the above fee standards and require a case by case payment of 200 yuan. The total amount for 50 cases is 10000 yuan.

In combination with the new charging policy issued by the Ministry of Finance, if the applicant currently has a case in The Hague that complies with the fee reduction policy, it can start to prepare for handling the fee reduction procedures. It is especially reminded that if there is a need to change the name of the applicant/patentee, do not rush to handle it first, and handle it after the China National Intellectual Property Administration officially announces the implementation of the new fee standard.