Japan: Patent Annual Fee Guide

Procedure and Patent Renewal Fees at the Japanese Patent Office (JPO).

An informational summary of the patent renewal rules in place for Japanese patents.

 

Renewal Years

Renewal fees are due on patents of any age that are granted at the Japanese Patent Office. Fees for the first to third years are due as a lump sum within 30 days of the decision to grant the patent. After than, fees are annual.

 

Renewal Dates & Payment Windows

There are two systems running in parallel that determine a patent’s renewal date – one a legacy.

If the patent application was filed up to January 1996, the renewal date is the anniversary of publication of the examined document.

For those filed after this, the renewal date is the anniversary of the date of payment of the lump sum – i.e. shortly after the anniversary of the grant date each year.

 

Late Payments

When an annual fee is not paid on time, there is a six-month period during which the lapse of the patent can be avoided by paid twice the value of the missed annual fee.

 

Entity Types

There are two categories of patent proprietor that are given reductions to the annual fees.

If the patent proprietor is an individual, a micro enterprise or an SME under 10 years of age, fees are discounted by 66%.

If the entity owning the patent is an academic institution, an SME of any age focused on R&D or if the proprietor is receiving certain relief benefits, a discount of 50% applies.

The appropriate documentation and proof of status must be filed with the patent office in order to claim the above discounts.

 

Local Japanese Agent

The JPO needs the renewal fee to be paid, in accordance with guidelines, by an agent in Japan.

 

Per Claim Fees

The renewal fee is made up of two components. The first is a basic fee per patent, the second is an additional fee per claim listed in the official patent document. The total renewal fee due for the patent is the sum of the basic fee and the per claim fees.

 

Renewal Fee Schedules

There are also two fee schedules running concurrently. For patents whose application examination was requested before 1^st April 2004, the older, higher fees apply. Newer patents not in this bracket benefit from the lower fees outlined below.

 

Fees are in JPY.

 

For patents with applications where examination was requested on or before 31^st March 2004:

For Patent Year	Basic Renewal Fee	Additional Fee per Claim
1	10300	900
2	10300	900
3	10300	900
4	16100	1300
5	16100	1300
6	16100	1300
7	32200	2500
8	32200	2500
9	32200	2500
10	64400	5000
11	64400	5000
12	64400	5000
13	64400	5000
14	64400	5000
15	64400	5000
16	64400	5000
17	64400	5000
18	64400	5000
19	64400	5000
20	64400	5000
21	64400	5000
22	64400	5000
23	64400	5000
24	64400	5000
25	64400	5000

For patents with applications where examination was requested on or after 1^st April 2004:

For Patent Year	Basic Renewal Fee	Additional Fee per Claim
1	2300	200
2	2300	200
3	2300	200
4	10300	500
5	10300	800
6	10300	800
7	24800	1900
8	24800	1900
9	24800	1900
10	59400	4600
11	59400	4600
12	59400	4600
13	59400	4600
14	59400	4600
15	59400	4600
16	59400	4600
17	59400	4600
18	59400	4600
19	59400	4600
20	59400	4600
21	59400	4600
22	59400	4600
23	59400	4600
24	59400	4600
25	59400	4600