Community Trade Mark Office Reduces Official Fees

There has been a substantial reduction in many official fees payable to the Community Trade Marks Office.

Among the more significant ones are the reduction of the application fee from €975 to €900 and of the final registration fee from €1100 to €850. The charge for renewal has now been reduced very significantly from €2500 to €1500, which is very timely, as the first Community Trade Marks to be filed will be coming up for their first renewal on 1 April 2006.

In an effort to encourage the use of electronic filing the Community Trade Marks Office has also offered an extra discount on the relevant official fees. The electronic application fee is now €750 (normally €900) and the renewal fee €1350 (normally €1500).

The relevant Commission Regulation was published on 14 October 2005 with the new fee regime coming into effect 7 days later. The new fees will therefore apply to all cases submitted on or after 22 October 2005.