Changes to the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand’s fees to come into force on 13 February 2020

Article  \  2 Oct 2019

In 2018, the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) carried out a review of its fees, with a view to providing consistency and transparency across the services it provides. That review has resulted in changes to patent and trade mark fees, which will come into force on 13 February 2020.

Patent fee changes

The key patent fee changes are:

  • the introduction of excess claim fees
  • an increased examination request fee
  • significantly increased fees for maintenance and renewals, especially from year 15 onward.

Changes to fees for patent applications and registrations under the Patents Act 2013 are summarised in the table below.

IPONZ fee

Current amount (NZ$)

Amount from 13 February 2020 (NZ$)

Amount from 13 February 2020 (US$)*

4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th year renewal fees

100

200

140

10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th year renewal fees

200

450

310

15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th year renewal fees

350

1,000

680

Renewal late fee

50

100

70

Filing a complete specification

250

250

170

Maintenance fee due on the 4th and each subsequent year, if paid before due date

100

200

140

Maintenance fee due on the 4th and each subsequent year, if paid within 6 months after due date

150

300

210

Request for examination or re-examination

500

750

510

Excess claims fee for examination, for each set of 5 claims over 29

n/a

120

80

Request for leave to amend complete specification after acceptance

150

500

340

Request for restoration of patent or patent application

100

600

410

* Approximate conversion at current exchange rate

The new excess claim fee will be payable between acceptance and grant, but it is calculated based on the maximum number of claims presented during the examination process.

You can minimise the impact of the patent fee changes by requesting examination before the fee increases take effect on 13 February 2020. To a lesser extent, the changes also affect fees for applications that are still progressing under the Patents Act 1953. These changes are summarised in the table below.

IPONZ fee

Current amount (NZ$)

Amount from 13 February 2020 (NZ$)

Amount from 13 February 2020 (US$)*

On filing complete specification

250

500

340

Application to amend complete specification before acceptance

60

150

100

Application to amend complete specification after acceptance

60

500

340

* Approximate conversion at current exchange rate

Our renewals team is currently reviewing portfolios and looking at ways to minimise the impact of the patent renewal fee changes. 

Trade mark fee changes

The key trade mark fee changes are:

  • decreased renewal fees
  • decreased application fees.

Changes to trade mark fees for applications made under the Trade Mark Acts 2002 are summarised in the table below.

IPONZ fee

Current amount (NZ$)

Amount from 13 February 2020 (NZ$)

Amount from 13 February 2020 (US$)*

Trade mark application, per class

150

100

65

Adding a class to an existing application

150

100

65

Trade mark application where the specification consists only of pre-approved descriptions for that class

150

70

45

Renewal of a trade mark registration, per class

350

200

130

* Approximate conversion at current exchange rate

Full information about IPONZ’s fees review can be found here.

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