| Change of official fee/ New appeal system in Japan |
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| As of April 1, 2004, the official fee of the Japanese Patent Office has been changed. |
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| 1. Change of Official Fee |
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(1) Summary
1_A fee for request for examination is doubled.
2_A The Annuity fees are reduced.
| |
Old |
New |
| Base Fee (JPY) |
Per claim (JPY) |
Base Fee (JPY) |
Per claim (JPY) |
| Request for examination |
84,300 |
2,000 |
168,600 |
4,000 |
| Annuity fee for 1st to 3rd year (fixed for three years) |
13,000 |
1,100 |
2,600 |
200 |
| Annuity fee for 4th to 6th year (each year) |
20,300 |
1,600 |
8,100 |
600 |
| Annuity fee for 7th to 9th year (each year) |
40,600 |
3,200 |
24,300 |
1,900 |
(2) The transitional treatment
Applied Fee Schedule |
Request for examination fee |
Annuity fees |
| (1) If an application and a request for examination has been filed by March 31, 2004 |
Old fee |
Old fee |
| (2) If an application has been filed by March 31, 2004 and a request for examination is filed on or after April 1, 2004 |
Old fee |
**New fee** |
| (3) If an application is filed on or after April 1, 2004 |
New fee |
New fee |
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| 2. The refund system of examination fee |
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| A half of the examination fee is refunded if the applicant requests for a refund of the examination fee before receiving the first official action. This new refund system will be applied to all applications currently pending. |
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| 3. The New Appeal System |
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The patent opposition system has been unified with the patent invalidation appeal system. The new patent-invalidation appeal may be lodged by anyone at anytime.
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Old |
New |
| Patent Invalidation Appeal |
Opposition |
Per claim (JPY) |
Who can
request
|
Party in interest |
Anyone |
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Timing of
request
|
No limitation |
6 months from grant of patent |
No limitation |
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