Fees

Overview of patent fees

Overview of fees
Type of Fee	Euro
Application fee for online filing (including 10 patent claims)	EUR 40
- extra fee for each additional claim	EUR 20

Application fee for paper filing (including 10 patent claims)	EUR 60
- extra fee for each additional claim	EUR 30

Fee for search request	EUR 250
Examination fee after filing of a search request	EUR 150
Examination fee without prior search request	EUR 350

Annual fee for the 3rd patent year	EUR 70
Annual fee for the 4th patent year	EUR 70
Annual fee for the 5th patent year	EUR 90
Annual fee for the 6th patent year	EUR 130
Opposition procedure	EUR 200
The annual fees will be reduced by half, if you declare that you are prepared to grant licences to anyone under Sec.23(1) Patent Act. Please note: 1. If the application fee is not paid within 3 months after filing the application, the application is deemed to be withdrawn (Sec.6(2) Patent Costs Act). Apart from the acknowledgement of receipt, no fee notices will be sent out. 2. For each patent and for each application, an annual fee pursuant to the Patent Costs Act must be paid without any request by the office at the beginning of the 3rd and every following year, calculated from the filing date. 3. If the fee is not paid at all, not paid on time or not paid in full the application is deemed to be withdrawn or the patent lapses.

PCT fees at the DPMA

An overview of the PCT fees is available here (in German).

Detailed fee information

Information of Costs, Fees and Expenses (A9510.1) - list of all fees and expenses

Hinweise zu Gebühren in Patentsachen

Information on the application fee applicable as of 1 October 2009 (in German)

Term of payment

Please make sure that your application fee is received at the DPMA within 3 months from the date of receipt of the application. Otherwise, your application is deemed to be withdrawn by operation of law. Apart from an acknowledgement of receipt, the office will not send out any fee notices.

The annual fees for the following protection period are falling due on the last day of the month corresponding to the application month (example: filing date 15 June 2009, third annuity due on 30 June 2011). If the annual fee is not paid before the expiry of the second month after the due date, it may be paid together with a surcharge for late payment of EUR 50.- before the expiry of the sixth month after the due date (in the above example the time limit expires on 31 December 2011). If the annual fee is not paid at all, not paid on time or not paid in full, the application is deemed to be withdrawn or the patent lapses. Advance payment of the annual fee is possible, but not earlier than one year before the respective fee is due. For applications of addition/patents of addition no annual fees have to be paid.

How can you pay the fees?

Payments may be made:

in cash at the counters of the document receiving service (in the Munich or Jena offices and in the Technical Information Centre in Berlin);
by transfer to the account of Bundeskasse Halle/DPMA at Bundesbank München, account no. 700 010 54 (bank sort code: 700 000 00);
by (cash) payment for Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt at a national or foreign financial institution into the account of Bundeskasse Halle at Bundesbank München, account no. 700 010 54 (bank sort code: 700 000 00);
by direct debiting mandate for an account in Germany. Please use the official form ( Einzugsermächtigung - A 9507) for this purpose.

For each payment the following details must be indicated: the complete file number and the fee number, listed in the schedules of fees (annex to Sec. 2(1) Patent Costs Act and the annex to Sec. 2(1) Ordinance on the Administrative Costs of the German Patent and Trade Mark Office), and the payer. The fee numbers for all fees and charges are listed in Information concerning Costs, Fees and Expenses (form A9510.1). Incorrect or incomplete information may delay processing.

Cross-border payments of fees

If you intend to pay fees by transfer from a foreign country, please give the following details:

Beneficiary: Bundeskasse Halle/DPMA
Name of the bank: BBk München (= Deutsche Bundesbank Filiale München)
Account number: 700 010 54
Bank sort code: 700 000 00
BIC (SWIFT Code): MARKDEF1700
IBAN: DE84 7000 0000 0070 0010 54

The following additional details are frequently requested in the sender countries:

ADDITIONAL DETAILS FOR CROSS-BORDER TRANSFERS
Address of recipient:	Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt Zweibrückenstrasse 12 80331 München
Bank address:	Deutsche Bundesbank Filiale München Leopoldstraße 234 80807 München

Bank charges for cross-border payment transactions

Frequently, banks levy charges for the cross-border transfer. These charges are deducted from the original amount paid, so that the amount credited to the account of the DPMA will be lower than the amount due. This may cause considerable legal prejudice for you. In that case your application or your request will be deemed to have been withdrawn, because under the provisions of the Patent Costs Act, the fee will be deemed not to have been paid in full or not to have been paid in due time.

We recommend that you explicitly instruct your bank that all additional transfer and handling charges are charged to you.