Large cut in trademarking fees from May

The European Commission has announced a 40 per cent cut in the cost of a Community Trademark. The reduction, to be introduced in early May, will bring the cost of applying online for a trademark to €900.

In future, there will be a single fee, replacing the current system of separate application and registration fees. When the new few comes into effect, applications for which the Trade Marks and Designs Office of the European Union, based in Alicante, Spain, has not issued the request for payment of the registration fee will not have to pay the current registration fee.

In addition to the new single fee of €900 for an electronically filed application, the fee for applying by fax or paper goes down to €1050, while applications filed via the Madrid Protocol will cost €870.