Update on European Patent Office (EPO) fees and Micro Entity Status

Assorted official fees are payable, when a patent application is filed at the European Patent Office (EPO). These fees are payable at the time of filing the application, and/or as prosecution of the application proceeds, whether the application is a direct application, or as a PCT regional phase application. These fees can be significant, especially for small companies, or for single inventors. To make the European Patent System more accessible, the EPO has introduced a ‘Micro Entity’ status for which some applicants may qualify. These provisions came into effect on 1 April 2024.

Micro Entity Status

Micro entity status provides significant fee reductions for small and individual applicants seeking patent protection at the EPO. To qualify for the fee reduction an applicant needs to:

1. be considered a “micro-entity” (see below); and
2. have filed fewer than five patent applications with the EPO over the past five years (the “cap”).

To be considered as a micro entity the applicant must be one of the following:

• (a) a microenterprise (defined as an enterprise which employs fewer than 10 full-time persons and which has an annual turnover and/or annual balance sheet total of up to €2 million);
• (b) a natural person, i.e. an individual; or
• (c) a non-profit organisation, university or public research organisation (detailed definitions of which can be found in OJ EPO 2024, A8).

If there is of more than one applicant, all applicants need to fulfil this condition. If the applicant qualifies, the status will apply regardless of nationality or domicile.

Micro entities benefit from reduced fees during all stages of the patent application process.

Example fees include:

These fee reductions are designed to alleviate the financial burden on smaller applicants during the crucial early stages of patent prosecution. Once the EPO grants a patent, micro entities will also benefit from reduced annual EPO fees for renewal, for as long as they qualify for the micro entity status.

These reduced fees enable smaller applicants to prosecute and then maintain their patents without prohibitive costs, encouraging innovation and participation in the patent system.

‘Small Entity’ Status

Please note that ‘micro entity’ status is different from ‘small entity’ status, which can also provide some language related support in regard to official fees for filing and examination payable at the EPO (but not the other fees listed above). A comparison of the fee reductions for micro and small entity status (language related support) is given in the table below:

These language-related fee reductions for small entities have been in place since 1 April 2014 and will continue to be available unchanged.

An applicant has small entity status if they employ less than 50 people and have an annual turnover that does not exceed €10 million. Clearly, an applicant with micro entity status will also have small entity status but not vice versa.

To qualify for a 30% reduction in filing and/or examination fee you need to:

• (a) be considered a “small entity” (as defined above);
• (b) be based in a Contracting State with an official language other than English, French, or German or be a national of that state living abroad; and
• (c) submit your application documents or the request for examination in such a language.

Clearly, these requirements will exclude UK companies, even if they qualify for micro entity status. If a micro entity also qualifies as a small entity per section (b) of the above criteria, then the Language-related fee reductions and fee reductions for micro-entities may be combined sequentially. For example, if a fee of €1000 is reduced by 30% to €700 under the language-related fee reduction scheme, then a second reduction by 30% under the micro-entity scheme would reduce the fee down to €490.

Summary

The newly introduced Micro entity status at the EPO significantly reduces the financial barriers for small and individual applicants throughout the patent lifecycle. By providing substantial fee reductions for filing, prosecution, grant, and renewal, the EPO seeks to foster an inclusive and supportive environment for innovation. For some applicants, they may also benefit from fee reductions for small entities as well, dependent on the EP State where the applicant is based.

If you want to save costs and believe that you may comply with the new micro entity status, contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information. We will save you time and expense in obtaining your granted EP patent(s), whilst growing your patent portfolio.