WARNING: Although the information which follows was correct at the time of publication, some information may no longer be applicable; for example, amendments may have been made to the PCT Regulations and Administrative Instructions, as well as to PCT Forms, since the PCT Newsletter concerned was published; changes to certain fees and references to certain publications may no longer be valid. Wherever there is a reference to a PCT Rule, please check carefully whether the Rule in force at the date of publication of the advice has since been amended.

The minimum requirements for filing an international application

Q: I am a Dutch applicant and, when filing with the European Patent Office or the International Bureau of WIPO, I pay the applicable fees in euros. The fees are calculated automatically when I file a new PCT application using ePCT. However, I would like to understand when and how PCT fees change. For example, the amount that I pay in euros for the international filing fee has increased at the beginning of each year for the past several years. How are these increases determined?

A: The international filing fee is paid for the benefit of the International Bureau and is fixed by the PCT Assembly in Swiss francs (CHF). It is set out in the Schedule of Fees annexed to the PCT Regulations (/pct/en/docs/texts/pct-regs.pdf#page=187) and the current amount is 1330 CHF plus 15 CHF per sheet in excess of 30, with specific reductions for electronic filings and for applicants from certain countries. It is payable in the currency (or one of the currencies) prescribed by the receiving Office with which you choose to file your PCT application. One of the advantages of the PCT is that the filer pays the applicable fees (transmittal fee, international filing fee and international search fee) to one single Office. Each receiving Office determines the currencies it accepts.

The amount of the international filing fee fixed in Swiss francs has not changed for many years. Any changes you experience are therefore due to the changing exchange rates on which the equivalent amounts are based. Where the fee is payable to a receiving Office in a currency other than Swiss francs (as determined by the relevant receiving Office - in your case euros), an equivalent amount is established in each currency in order to avoid the daily fluctuations in exchange rates. For those currencies that are freely convertible into Swiss francs, equivalent amounts are established annually by the Director General of WIPO, after consultation with the relevant Offices, according to the exchange rates prevailing on the first Monday in the month of October. This applies not only to the basic international filing fee, but also to the fee per sheet over 30, the electronic filing reductions (where applicable) listed in item 4 of the Schedule of Fees (PCT Rule 15.2(d)(i)), and to the handling fee (under PCT Rule 57.2(d)(i)), payable for the benefit of the International Bureau where a demand for international preliminary examination is filed). Any such adjustments usually enter into force on the first day of the subsequent calendar year and are all available at:

/pct/en/docs/fees.pdf

Throughout the year, these amounts are further revised (again, after consultation with the relevant Offices) when the exchange rate becomes at least 5% higher or at least 5% lower than the last exchange rate applied, for more than four consecutive Fridays. These new amounts generally become applicable two months after their publication in the Official Notices (PCT Gazette) at

/pct/en/official_notices/index.html.

Equally, equivalent amounts of the search fee and the supplementary search fee payable for the benefit of the International Searching Authority and the Authority specified for supplementary search respectively, and fixed by each Authority itself in the currency which it accepts, are also established in this way (under PCT Rules 16.1(d)(i) and 45bis.3(b), respectively), and are indicated in the PCT Fee Tables. For example, if you file with a US co-applicant at the International Bureau as receiving Office (RO/IB) and you choose the USPTO to perform the international search and wish to pay all fees in euros, you will pay an amount in euros which is an equivalent amount of the international search fee fixed by the USPTO in US dollars.

The details are governed by the Directives of the PCT Assembly Relating to the Establishment of Equivalent Amounts of Certain Fees and are available at:

/pct/en/fees/equivalent_amounts.html

For more information on PCT fees please go to our dedicated page at:

/pct/en/fees/