PCT Newsletter
July-August 2026 | No. 07-08/2025
PCT information update
BG Bulgaria (discontinuance of fax service; representation by agent)
Since 20 February 2026, the Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria has stopped accepting the filing of documents by facsimile.
The Office has clarified that any attorney or patent agent registered to practice before the Office may act as an agent before the Office, whether in its capacity as receiving Office or delegated (or elected) Office.
The Office has also notified that, in its capacity as receiving Office, it has not made any waiver regarding a separate power of attorney or a copy of a general power of attorney under PCT Rules 90.4(d) and 90.5(c), and requires that a separate power of attorney or a copy of a general power of attorney be submitted.
(Updating of PCT Applicant’s Guide , Annexes B and C, and National Chapter, Summary (BG))
BW Botswana (fees)
Since 1 August 2026, the amount of the transmittal fee (PCT Rule 14) payable to the Companies and Intellectual Property Authority (CIPA) (Botswana) in its capacity as receiving Office has changed to USD 50.
(Updating of PCT Applicant’s Guide , Annex C (BW))
CN China (fees)
From 1 September 2026, there will be changes in the equivalent amounts in CNY of the international filing fee, the fee per sheet in excess of 30 sheets, the electronic filing reductions (where applicable) listed in item 4 of the Schedule of Fees, and the handling fee, as indicated in the PCT Fee Tables.
CR Costa Rica (Office website address; fees)
The website address of the Registry of Intellectual Property (Costa Rica) has changed and is now as follows:
Since 1 January 2026, several fees payable to the Office in its capacity as receiving Office have changed as follows:
Fee for priority document (PCT Rule 17.1(b)): ......................................................................USD 25
Fee for requesting restoration of the right of priority (PCT Rule 26bis.3(d)): ..................USD 160
Since the same date, the Office has also changed the amounts of the following fees payable to it as designated (or elected) Office:
Fee for reinstatement of rights (PCT Rule 49.6(d)(i)):.........................................................USD 160
Fee for requesting restoration of the right of priority (PCT Rule 49ter.2(d)):..................USD 160
(Updating of PCT Applicant’s Guide, Annexes B and C, and National Chapter, Summary (CR))
CY Cyprus (Office name; number of copies required for paper filing)
The name of the patent Office of Cyprus has changed and is now:
Name of Office: Department of Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property (Cyprus)
In addition, the number of copies of an international application required by the Office if the application is filed on paper has changed: three copies must now be filed, instead of one.
DZ Algeria (fees)
Since 1 January 2026, national fee components and the amounts payable to the Algerian National Institute of Industrial Property in its capacity as designated (or elected) Office have changed and are now as follows:
Companies Universities, Start-ups,
research centers natural persons
Filing fee and maintenance fee for the 1st year:.........................DZD 15,000 DZD 7,000 DZD 6,500
Fee for priority claims, per priority:...............................................DZD 10,000 DZD 5,000 DZD 2,000
Publication fee:................................................................................DZD 10,000 DZD 5,000 DZD 3,000
— Surcharge for each set of 5 pages in excess of 10..................DZD 5,000 DZD 2,000 DZD 1,200
Maintenance fee:
— from the 2nd to the 5th year, per year.....................................DZD 5,000 DZD 4,000 DZD 3,000
The national fee must be paid within the time limit applicable under PCT Article 22 or 39(1). Value added tax (VAT) of 19% must be added to the fee amounts.
(Updating of PCT Applicant’s Guide, National Chapter, Summary (DZ))
EG Egypt (types of physical media accepted by the Office)
The Egyptian Intellectual Property Authority has notified of a change concerning the types of physical media accepted by it as an International Searching Authority for the furnishing of nucleotide and/or amino acid sequence listings in electronic form: it now accepts CD-ROM, CD-R, DVD and DVD-R.
(Updating of PCT Applicant’s Guide, Annex D (EG))
HU Hungary (discontinuance of fax service)
Since 1 July 2026, the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office (HIPO) has stopped accepting the filing of documents by facsimile.
(Updating of PCT Applicant’s Guide, Annex B (HU))
LC Saint Lucia (Office address)
The location and mailing address of the Registry of Companies and Intellectual Property (Saint Lucia) has changed and is now as follows:
Location and mailing address: Cnr. Micoud and Chisel Streets
Castries
Saint Lucia
(Updating of PCT Applicant’s Guide , Annex B (LC))
MT Malta (Office telephone numbers)
One of the telephone numbers of the Industrial Property Registrations Directorate, Commerce Department (Malta) has changed. The numbers are now as follows:
Telephone: (356) 2569 0100
(356) 2569 0101
(Updating of PCT Applicant’s Guide , Annex B (MT))
NL Netherlands (Kingdom of the) (Office email address)
The email address of the Netherlands Patent Office has changed and is now as follows:
Email: info@octrooicentrum.nl
(Updating of PCT Applicant’s Guide , Annex B (NL))
OA African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) (Office telephone number and website address; communication of notifications; discontinuance of fax service; available types of protection; representation by agent; fees)
The telephone numbers and website address of the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) have changed and are now as follows:
Telephone: (237) 222 20 57 00 (fixed line)
677 11 40 84 (WhatsApp)
Website: https://oapi.int/
The Office now sends notifications regarding international applications via email.
The Office will no longer accept the filing of documents by facsimile.
The Office has clarified that the types of protection available via the PCT where the OAPI is designated (or elected) consist of OAPI patents, OAPI certificates of addition, OAPI certificates of registration of utility models and OAPI certificates of improvement.
The Office has also clarified that any industrial property attorney or agent registered to practice before it may act as an agent before the Office, whether in its capacity as receiving Office or delegated (or elected) Office. A list of agents is available on the Office’s website.
The Office has changed its requirements regarding submitting a copy of the international application upon entry into the national phase: the applicant is now only required to send a copy of the international application if the Office has not received a copy of the international application from the International Bureau in accordance with PCT Article 20. This may occur when the applicant requests early national phase entry under PCT Article 23(2) or 40(2).
Since 1 January 2025, the amount of the transmittal fee (PCT Rule 14) payable to the Office in its capacity as receiving Office has changed and is now XAF 50,000.
Since the same date, national fee components and amounts payable to the Office as designated (or elected) Office have also changed. Complete lists of national fees for patents and certificates of addition and utility models and certificates of improvement are available from the OAPI website.
(Updating of PCT Applicant’s Guide , Annexes B and C, and National Chapter, Summary (OA))
PT Portugal
Since 1 July 2026, the amounts of several fees payable to National Institute of Industrial Property (Portugal) in its capacity as receiving Office have changed and are now as follows:
Online On paper
Transmittal fee:..............................................................................................................EUR 12.58 25.69
Fee for priority document:...........................................................................................EUR 19.27 51.37
Fee for requesting restoration of the right of priority (PCT Rule 26bis.3(d)):........EUR 192.63 385.26
Since the same date, the fee for requesting restoration of the right of priority (PCT Rule 49ter.2(d)) payable to the Office in its capacity as designated (or elected) Office has changed and is now:
Online On paper
.......................................................................................................................................EUR 192.63 385.26
And since that date, the amount of several fees payable to the Office in its capacity as designated (or elected) Office have also changed and are now as follows:
National fee:
For a patent: Online On paper
Filing fee.....................EUR 128.42 256.84
For a utility model:
Filing fee ....................EUR 224.75 449.50
(Updating of PCT Applicant’s Guide, Annex C and National Chapter, Summary (PT))
QA Qatar (Office email addresses; fees)
The email addresses of the Intellectual Property Department (Qatar) have changed and are now as follows:
Since 10 June 2024, the filing and substantive examination fee payable to the Office in its capacity as designated (or elected) Office has changed to QAR 5,000 for applications filed by companies, institutions and research entities, or QAR 2,500 for applications filed by individuals. This fee must be paid within the time limit applicable under PCT Article 22 or 39(1).
(Updating of PCT Applicant’s Guide, Annex B and National Chapter, Summary (QA))
SE Sweden (discontinuance of fax service)
From 1 November 2026, the Swedish Intellectual Property Office (PRV) will no longer accept the filing of documents by facsimile.
(Updating of PCT Applicant’s Guide, Annex B (SE))
SM San Marino (discontinuance of fax service)
Since 8 June 2026, the Patent and Trademark Office (San Marino) has stopped accepting the filing of documents by facsimile. Documents may be transmitted to the Office by e-mail at: info.brevettiemarchi@pa.sm. The original of the document is not required.
(Updating of PCT Applicant’s Guide, Annex B (SM))
TM Turkmenistan (contact details; restrictions on filing international applications; provisional protection; accepted languages of filing; representation by agent; fees; requirements for national phase entry)
The location, mailing address and website address of the State Service for Intellectual Property of the Ministry of Finance and Economy of Turkmenistan have changed and are now as follows:
Location and mailing address: Archabil av., 156
744000 Ashgabat c.
Turkmenistan
Website: https://fineconomic.gov.tm
The Office has notified the International Bureau of the provisions of its national legislation concerning restrictions on the filing of international applications with foreign Offices for inventions created in Turkmenistan. For details, see Official Notices (PCT Gazette) of 23 April 2026.
The Office has also notified that provisional protection after international publication is afforded only from the date the Office publishes the application details in its Bulletin. Such publication takes place after the required translation into the Turkmen language has been furnished and the relevant fees have been paid following entry into the national phase.
The Office has made several notifications in relation to its capacity as receiving Office:
- It accepts English and Russian as languages in which the request may be filed (PCT Rule 12.1(c)).
- It accepts language-dependent free text in English or Russian for the filing of the sequence listing part of the description under PCT Rule 12.1(d), and permits the language-dependent free text to be filed in both English and Russian within a single sequence listing.
- It has not made any waiver regarding a separate power of attorney or a copy of a general power of attorney under PCT Rules 90.4(d) and 90.5(c), and requires that a separate power of attorney or a copy of a general power of attorney be submitted.
The national fee components and amounts payable to the Office as designated (or elected) Office have changed and are now as follows:
National fee:
Filing fee.................................................................................................USD 100
Claim fee for each independent claim in excess of one[1]..............USD 30
Maintenance fee for patent (limited patent), for the 1st year.........USD 50
The Office has also made several notifications in relation to its capacity as designated (or elected) Office:
- It has modified its requirements concerning the time when the name and address of the inventor must be provided if Turkmenistan is designated (or elected). The name and address of the inventor must be in the request. If the data concerning the inventor are missing at the expiry of the time limit under PCT Article 22 or 39(1), the Office will invite the applicant to comply with the requirement within a time limit of three months from the date of receipt of the invitation.
- Since 4 November 2017, the time limit applicable for entry into the national phase under PCT Article 22(1) has been 31 months from the priority date.
- It applies the “unintentional” criterion to requests for reinstatement of rights (PCT Rule 49.6(a)). Since 5 July 2018, the amount of the fee has been USD 70.
- It has changed the conditions for exemptions, reductions or refunds of the national fee. For details, refer to Official Notices (PCT Gazette) of 23 April 2026.
- The language of the translation of the international application for entry into the national phase before the Office must now be Turkmen.
(Updating of PCT Applicant’s Guide, Annexes B and C and National Chapter, Summary (TM))
ZA South Africa (fees)
From 1 September 2026, there will be changes in the equivalent amounts in ZAR of the international filing fee, the fee per sheet in excess of 30 sheets and the electronic filing reductions (where applicable) listed in item 4 of the Schedule of Fees, as indicated in the PCT Fee Tables.
(Updating of PCT Applicant’s Guide, Annex C (ZA))
Search fee and other fees relating to international search (various Offices)
Since 1 August 2026, there have been changes in the equivalent amounts payable in the currencies specified below for international searches carried out by the following Offices:
China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA)...................................EUR
Eurasian Patent Office (EAPO).......................................................................................EUR
European Patent Office (EPO)........................................................................................CNY
Federal Service for Intellectual Property (Rospatent) (Russian Federation) ...........EUR
Ministry of Intellectual Property of the Republic of Korea (MOIP)...........................EUR, USD
Visegrad Patent Institute (VPI)......................................................................................HUF
From 1 September 2026, there will be changes in the equivalent amounts payable in the currencies specified below for international searches carried out by the following Offices:
China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA).................CHF
Egyptian Intellectual Property Authority...................................................CHF, EUR, USD
The new amounts are indicated in Fee Table I(b).
[1] This fee must be paid within the time limit applicable under PCT Article 22 or 39(1).
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