Cabinet Order on the Patent Law Amendment in 2018｜IP Laws & Practices

The Cabinet Order on the Patent Law Amendment in 2018 has just been promulgated on January 8, 2019.

The Order prescribes that a fee for request for examination and annuities from the 1st to the 10th years are reduced (a) by half for small and mid-size enterprises and experimental or research organizations, (b) by 2/3 for micro entities having 20 employees or less and venture companies which were established within less than 10 years, and (c) by 3/4 for small and mid-size enterprises doing business concerning the Act on Special Measures concerning Fukushima Reconstruction and Revitalization.

On the other hand, for compensating the shrink of the JPO’s revenue by the above new reduction, the Order also prescribes that the basic fee for request for examination is raised from 118,000 Japanese Yen (JPY) to 138,000 JPY by 20,000 JPY on a national patent application, while from 106,000 JPY to 124,000 JPY by 18,000 JPY on an international patent application of which international search report was prepared by any International Searching Authority other than the JPO.

The new Order becomes effective from April 1, 2019. Specifically, the new fee reduction applies to applications of which request for examination is filed on or after April 1, 2019, while the new fee raise applies to applications filed on or after April 1, 2019. Please note that a filing date of an international application is deemed as the international filing date, and a filing date of a divisional application is deemed as the actual filing date, not a filing date of the parent application, for applying the above new Order.

Accordingly, if you wish to enjoy the new reduction, you should file a request for examination on or after April 1, 2019, if possible; and if you wish to avoid the raise of fee for request for examination, you should file applications before April 1, 2019, in particular on divisional applications, if appropriate.

Kawaguti & Partners