Lower Community Trade Mark renewal fees: common sense prevails!
Written By
Partner
UK
I am a partner in our Intellectual Property practice in London, specialising in brand protection. I've been advising clients on IP issues since 1994.
The new Community Trade Mark (or, more correctly, European Union Trade Mark) Regulation comes into force on 23 March 2016. This lowers the renewal fees payable for CTM (EUTM) registrations.
It has been confirmed that all registrations with a renewal date on or after 23 March will pay the new, lower, renewal fees. This also applies to registrations which have already been renewed, for which a refund will be given.
Originally it had been intended that the introduction of the lower fees would be delayed, until 23 September, but thankfully for brand owners this is not going to happen, so that the benefit of the lower fees can be enjoyed as soon as the new Regulation comes into force.
The new fees are:
| Classes | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| One class | €1350 | €850 |
| Two classes | €1350 | €900 |
| Three classes | €1350 | €1050 |
| Four classes | €1750 | €1200 |
| For each additional class the fee increases by €150 | Down from €400 | |
