Last week, I asked a European firm in France to file a new patent application in order to have it enter the European phase from Japan.

　I always think that the official fees at the EPO are very expensive. Their estimated invoice shows that the total of the official fees would be €4,200. In addition to this, we have to pay their service charge. So the total cost would be around €5,000.

　I don’t know why it costs a lot more than other countries. It is no wonder that many companies in Japan hesitate to get patent rights in Europe, since its official fee is very high and most companies in Japan cannot afford to pay such amount of the fee.

　In Japan, the JPO has recently decreased its official fees for trademark application. As a result, the number of trademark applications has been skyrocketting since it started. Therefore, I think that the EPO should consider to mark their prices down in order to attract more foreign customers.

　Thanks for reading this blog. If you are interested in our firm, I would be very happy. Please feel free to contact us. I can handle English so you can communicate to us easily in English. We will be waiting for serving you.

　Best regards,
　Noboru Minowada