The UK Intellectual Property Office's plans to increase fees - take action now?

The UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) is increasing its fees for patents, trade marks and designs from 1 April 2026; whilst subject to parliamentary approval, this seems likely to go ahead. By April, the UKIPO won't have increased its fees for patents for a considerable 8 years, and for trade marks for a very considerable 18 years.

The proposed increase is on average 25%. This means, for example, that the cost of a UK patent search will increase from £150 to £200, and the online filing of a UK trade mark application will increase from £170 to £205.

Considering patents in more detail, and looking at some of the larger and/or more frequently paid patent costs, some increases are as follows:

• Request for a search (on a UK patent application): from £180 to £240

• Request examination of a UK patent application (online): from £100 to £130

• Grant fee:

  • per excess claim over 25: from £20 to £27

  • per excess description page over 35: from £10 to £13

• Request to be informed of future events relating to an application or patent: from £25 to £35

Whilst not all of these increases seem that significant in isolation, it is prudent to consider acting and paying these fees ahead of the increase where said fees will be payable anyway; they can soon mount up, for example on excess page fees when an application is particularly large, or on patent monitoring when requesting to be informed on a vast number of patents/applications. This is also particularly true for companies/individuals with larger IP portfolios who may be able to realise much larger savings. Whilst the average increase is 25%, patent renewals (over their full 20 year lifetime), for example, are increasing by a very significant 33%, by around £1520.

If you'd like to discuss any of the above, and learn whether taking action soon could save you money, please contact myself or your usual Marks & Clerk representative. We'd be delighted to help! Otherwise, more information on the increases can also be found here.