China - Significant Reduction To Official Trademark Filing Fees
In a move which will be welcomed by all parties filing trademarks in China, the Chinese Trademark Office has recently announced a significant reduction in official fees.
With effect from 01 April 2017, official filing and prosecution fees for China trademarks matters will be slashed by 50%. Headline changes include reducing official filing fees by half from RMB600 (US$100) to RMB300 (US$50) and a reduction in the surcharge applied to additional items in a specification above 10 - reduced from RMB60 (US$10) to RMB30(US$5).
Another significant change relates to official fees for recording a change of agent. Rights owners have long complained about the high official fees imposed to change agents which created a significant barrier to trademark owners moving their portfolios to new agents. Now the official fees for change of agent have been halved – from RMB500 (US$82) to RMB250 (US$41) per mark.
A summary of all the key changes is as follows:
