IPONZ patent and trademark fees to increase in February

The update to the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) patent and trademark fees will go live in February.

Spurred by a routine review of IPONZ fees, the changes come after a public consultation last year. Among the proposed changes were an increase in fees for patent renewals and maintenance, as well as high-cost patent services such as patent restorations and amendments after acceptance. IPONZ received seven submissions, which were considered during the consultation.

Revised proposals were approved by the Cabinet in March, which began the drafting of legislative amendments for the fees changes. The Cabinet approved the amendments earlier this month.

IPONZ said that patent and trademark fees needed to increase in to “reduce IPONZ’s memorandum account, rebalance patent, and trademark revenues, and improve the efficiency of the patent and trademark regimes.” It said that no changes were deemed necessary for design services.

In the run-up to the fees changing, IPONZ will officially notify the World Intellectual Property Organization of the changes, which are filed under the Madrid and the Patent Cooperation Treaty systems.