On 1 October 2024, we updated some of our fees to continue covering the costs of administering intellectual property (IP) rights and related legislation.
We implemented a 6-month interim measure to expedited patent applications containing more than 20 claims. We notified the applicant representatives if excess claim fees would apply, so applications could be amended before the first examination report if needed.
This interim measure ended on 1 April 2025.
What happens now?
From 1 April 2025, we will notify applicants with a standard patent examination request about 6 months before the expected start of their examination, regardless of the number of claims in their application.
This notification will enable you to make any desired amendments before your examination. The timing of the notification may vary with each type of invention.
If you are making an expedited request, we encourage you to file any desired amendments to reduce the number of claims at the time of filing the request. This also applies to applications filed through the Patent Prosecution Highway route.
We will issue an invitation to pay (ITP) for the excess claims fee after we complete the first examination report. This payment will be due one month from the date of the first report. However, you can also pay any time within the following 11 months without needing an extension. There is no extra fee for late payment within this 11-month period, however the application will be considered lapsed until the fees are paid.
You can respond to the first examination report before paying the excess-claims fee. But we will only consider your response after you pay the fee. Please note that the time taken to pay the fee does not extend the deadline for acceptance of your application.
See the patents excess claims page for further details.