With special thanks also to Ivana Jovic Abraham for her contribution to this blog.
UKIPO to Reduce Design Fees From 1 October 2016
In January 2016, we blogged about a proposal by the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) to reduce fees for UK registered designs.
Following an open consultation process, the UKIPO has now announced that fees will in fact be reduced. The changes are currently planned to come into effect on 1 October 2016.
The changes to the fee structure are shown below (and please click here for some useful business guidance published by the UKIPO):
Applying for a UK registered design (Online)
|
|
Old UKIPO fee |
New UKIPO Online fee |
|
Single application |
£60 |
£50 |
|
Multiple application |
£60 for first design and £40 for each subsequent design included in application |
£70 for up to ten designs and £20 for every ten thereafter (i.e. 11-20) |
Renewing a UK registered design
|
|
Old UKIPO fee |
New UKIPO fee |
|
First renewal (5th year) |
£130 |
£70 |
|
Second renewal (10th year) |
£210 |
£90 |
|
Third renewal (15th year) |
£320 |
£110 |
|
Fourth renewal (20th year) |
£450 |
£140 |
Other changes
|
|
Old UKIPO fee |
New UKIPO fee |
|
Application for declaration of invalidity |
£50 |
£48 |
|
Application for request to search UK design register |
£25 |
£24 |
|
Application for certified copy of design |
£30 |
£22 |
The UKIPO has provided a number of helpful renewal scenarios to help design rights owners decide what fees they should pay:
- Renewals due on or before 30 September 2016 and paid on or before that date will pay the old fee rate;
- Renewals due on or before 30 September 2016 and paid on or after 1 October 2016 will pay the old fee rate;
- Renewals due on or after 1 October 2016 and paid on or before 30 September 2016 will pay the old fee rate;
- Renewals due on or after 1 October 2016 and paid on or after that date will pay the new fee rate.
If you have any queries regarding the above, or design protection more generally, please feel free to contact us.