A review of IPONZ official fees for patent, trade mark, and designs took place in 2018. Whilst the review found that no changes were considered necessary for design services, last month changes to fees for trade mark and patent services were approved. A summary of the fee changes is set out below.
Patents
Official fees for renewing and maintaining New Zealand patents will increase from 13 February 2020. A full list of the new patent fees can be viewed here. In addition to an increase in the renewal and maintenance fees, a new ‘excess claims’ fee will also be introduced.
Where a request for examination is made on or after 13 February 2020, an ‘excess claims’ fee (being NZ$120 for each 5th claim over the 25) will become payable upon acceptance of the patent if at any time during the examination process the specification contained 30 or more claims. IPONZ will notify applicants about the amount of the excess claims fee to be paid upon acceptance of the patent.
Trade Marks
The fee for standard applications to register New Zealand trade marks will decrease on 13 February 2020, with three new price-points:
As set out above, IPONZ will offer discounted application fees on new marks subject to relevant search and/or preliminary within the three months prior to lodgement. The official fee for a combined search and preliminary advice will be reduced to NZ$50 per class from 13 February 2020.
The official fee to renew a trade mark registrations will also decrease from NZ$350 to NZ$200 per class.
For expert assistance with protection of your IP rights in New Zealand, call +61 7 3369 2226 or email mail@mbip.com.au.