There have been quite a lot of rumours concerning the planned Community trade mark fee cuts recently. However, information published on the OHIM's website today clarifies matters considerably:

"CTM fee cut in "early May"

The European Commission has revealed that the planned 40% cut in the cost of a CTM is expected to be introduced in early May. Further details about the fee reductions, which will bring down the cost of a CTM applied for online to €900, are also now available.

In future, there will be a single CTM fee, replacing the current system of separate application and registration fees. Under the transitional arrangements agreed, applications currently in the pipeline, for which OHIM has not issued the request for payment of the registration fee by the date on which the new fee schedule comes into effect, will not have to pay the current registration fee. For these customers, the application fee (e.g. €750 for an online application for up to three classes) will be the only amount paid.

A draft Regulation is currently being prepared for adoption by the Commission, following which it will be published in the Official Journal. The fee reductions will take effect the day after publication. This is expected to be in early May.

The main elements of the package are as follows: The fee system will be simplified with the registration fee set at zero. In addition to the new single fee of €900 for an electronically filed CTM, the fee for a CTM applied for by fax or paper goes down to €1050, and it will cost €870 for an application filed via the Madrid Protocol.

Full details of the fee changes are in the attached table."

The most important fee changes are set out below (in €/Euro)

• CTM application fee (paper): Current fee: 900 - New fee: 1050
• CTM application fee (e-filing): Current fee 750 - New fee: 900
• CTM application fee (collective mark): Current fee 1300 -New fee 1800
• CTM registration fee: Current fee: 850 - New fee: 0
• CTM registration class fee: Current fee: 150 - New fee: 0
• CTM registration fee (collective mark): Current fee: 1700 - New fee: 0
• CTM registration class fee (collective mark): Current fee: 300 - New fee: 0
• Additional fee for late payment of registration fee: Current fee: 25% (max. 750) - New fee: 0
• Madrid Protocol registration fee: Current fee: 1450 - New fee: 870
• Madrid Protocol registration class fee: Current fee: 300 - New fee: 150
• Madrid Protocol fee (collective mark): Current fee: 2700 - New fee: 1620
• Madrid Protocol class fee (collective mark): Current fee: 600 - New fee: 300
  

Please check the attached table for detailed information on the transition regime.

If you are interested in the background of the current fee changes, please check the OHIM's website here for information on the joint meeting of the OHIM's Administrative Board and Budget Committee, which took place in Brussels on 18-19 September 2008. This joint meeting considerered "How to Better Balance OHIM's Budget" and the future for Community trade mark fees. The conclusions of this meeting ("compromise solution") can be found here. Class 46 thanks Tove Graulund for this background information.