Australian Patent Office to Close Acceptance Fee Loophole

Following its internal fee review, the Australian Patent Office has issued a proposal to increase certain official fees with effect from 1 August 2010.

On the most part, the proposed fee increases are nominal and insignificant – for instance, the official fee for entering the Australian national phase is proposed to increase from AU$320 to AU$340; and filing a provisional application is planned to rise from AU$80 to AU$110.

However, there is one new fee proposed that will effectively close an existing loophole through which many Australian patent applicants may avoid the excess claim fees that become payable upon acceptance. As many will know, such fees are levied at the time of acceptance of an Australian patent application; and are charged at the rate of AU$100 per claim in excess of 20.