New Zealand IP Office aims to increase patent fees by 50%
The Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) has suggested increasing patent examination fees by 50% in an effort to recoup the costs of delivering patent services.
It currently costs NZ $500 (US $345) for a patent to be examined or re-examined under the Patents Act 2013. This fee will increase to NZ $750 (US $515) under the proposals.
This is compared to a utility patent examination fee of $760 in the US, according to the US Patent and Trademark Office.
The increase will help to boost patent revenue in New Zealand, according to the IPONZ. The office said that revenue currently does not cover the costs of patent services.
The proposals were part of the IPONZ’s ‘ IP Fees Review’ discussion document, released this month. The publication outlined ways to even the imbalance with the ultimate goal to increase patent revenue by 75% by 2024.
“Patent fee revenue hasn’t been covering costs, and we expect this to continue if patent fees stay the same,” said the office. “We need to increase patent fees so that revenue levels are closer to the overall cost of patent services.”
The document highlighted that patent application fees under the Patents Act 1953 are lower than the fees under the Patents Act 2013.
Due to the transitional provisions of the Patents Act 2013, applicants with a pending patent application under the Patents Act 1953 may continue to pay fees under the 1953 act, said the IPONZ. According to the IPONZ, this difference in pricing incentivises inventors to file applications under the Patents Act 1953, which the office said may be inhibiting innovation.
This is because a patent filed under the Patents Act 1953 can secure “considerably broader” IP rights than a patent filed under the Patents Act 2013. According to the IPONZ, this means that innovators may be uncertain over whether a patent will be granted for any of the subject matter contained in the relevant specifications.
“As a result, innovators may choose to steer clear of this subject matter rather than risk potential infringement or other legal proceedings,” said the document.
The IPONZ said that it will aim to increase patent application fees under the Patents Act 1953 to make them closer to those of the Patents Act 2013.
It currently costs NZ $250 (US $170) to file a complete specification under the Patents Act 1953. The IPONZ proposed increasing this fee to NZ $500 (US $345).
The IPONZ also suggested increasing a patent’s renewal fee from NZ $100 (US $70) to NZ $200 (US $140) for the patent’s fourth to ninth years of existence under the Patents Act 2013, in order to bring fees in line with other jurisdictions. This is compared to AUD $300 (US $220) in Australia, SGD $225 (US $165) in Singapore and CAD $200 (US $150) in Canada.
Having higher renewal and maintenance fees would allow fees for examination and other patent services to be set “below the cost to serve per unit”, said the office.
“This helps promote innovation by ensuring the accessibility of the system for individuals and firms that are not yet benefitting financially from their inventions”, said the IPONZ.
The IPONZ is accepting public feedback on the proposals until July 30.
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