A public consultation setting out proposed changes to current patent fees was announced by the UK Intellectual Property Office (UK-IPO).

The UK-IPO announcement states that "modest renewal fee increases are proposed," as well as  increasing search and examination fees, although the increase would be linked to an increased discount for e-filed search and examination requests.

The main proposals include:

• Some increases to patent renewal fees, chiefly for mature patents
• An increase in patent search and examination fees but with a larger discount for e-filed search and examination requests
• The introduction of an excess claims fee, and
• The introduction of a litigation fee for contested patent proceedings at the Intellectual Property Office.

David Lammy, Minister of State for Intellectual Property said: “The Intellectual Property Office needs a sustainable income .... It’s important to realise that UK patent fees are, and would still remain, some of the lowest in the world.”

The review has also considered and made proposals on changes to Intellectual Property Office fees for handling international patent applications and the fees for recording transactions on designs, patents and trade marks.

The Intellectual Property Office has not significantly increased fees since 1992, according to the UK-IPO press release.