UPC fees and recoverable costs
8 May 2015
Public consultation opened today regarding the court fees and recoverable costs at the Unitary Patent Court. The consultation period shall last 12 weeks, closing at midnight on 31 July. Responses should be sent to secretariat@unified-patent-court.org, preferably in English.
We’ve picked out some key points from the document below, however, should you wish to review the consultation document in full, please follow this link.
Key points:
Fee structure – The court fees will be based on the German fee structure wherein the total court fee is a combination of a ‘fixed’ fee and a ‘value-based’ fee. The fixed fees appear to be relatively high, with infringement actions and counterclaims costing €11,000. The value-based fees aren’t applicable to cases with an estimated value of less than/equal to €500,000, however, they are separated into several brackets up to a bracket of more than €30,000,000 for which a court fee of €220,000 would be applicable. It is expected that a quarter of all cases at the UPC will not meet the threshold for a value-based fee.
Fee reductions – It is possible to apply for a reduction of the value-based fee for SMEs, micro-entities, non-profit organisations, universities and public research organisations. The application procedure for this reduction is outlined on pages 7-9 of the consultation document. The document further outlines that “[T]argeted support measures for small and medium-sized enterprises and micro entities may be considered“.
Cost recovery – Under these rules on court fees, costs will be recoverable on a case value basis. For the 25% of cases under €500,000 in value, the recoverable costs will be up to €75,000. Again, there are several brackets of case value, with the highest being up to €3,000,000 recoverable on cases worth more than €50,000,000.
There are several other important points mentioned in this document, including reimbursements for settling early, and extra economic protection for SMEs. It is also worth noting that the ‘application for opt-out’ fee has been set at € 80. Please do follow the link above for more detailed information.
James Mitchell
Electronics, Computing & Physics group
If you require further information on anything covered in this briefing, please contact James Mitchell (jmitchell@withersrogers.co.uk; +44 20 7940 3600) or your usual contact at the firm.
This publication is a general summary of the law. It should not replace legal advice tailored to your specific circumstances.
© Withers & Rogers LLP, May 2015
