Example – Electronics AB
Just outside of Stockholm, there is a strong technology company that develops electrical components.
To patent an invention in 7 countries
Just outside of Stockholm, there is a strong technology company that develops electrical components. They want to do what they are good at and so hire a patent agent to write both the description for a novelty search and the patent application. Their market is mainly in Europe, so they choose to apply for a European patent from EPO.
Name: Electronics AB
Product: PCB components
Employees: 10
Company turnover: 15 million SEK
City: Kista
One patent from EPO and validated in: Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Germany, Denmark, the UK, Poland
The patent's lifespan: 11 years
To get a patent in 7 countries took approximately 5-6 years
Costs
Agent cost for writing the description for a novelty search: 10,000 SEK
Buying a novelty search from PRV: 12,100 SEK
Agent cost for writing an EPC application and other agent costs, such as replying to notices and administrative tasks: 120,000-180,000 SEK
Fees taken by EPO
Filing fee, search fee, patentability examination and granting
fee, EPO: 50,500 - 63,500 SEK
Designation fee for all states: 6,000 SEK
Individually validated patents
Fees taken by PRV and other patent authorities:
Validation in 7 countries: 20,000 SEK
Annual fees over 11 years: 110,000 SEK
Translation:
Translation costs: 50,000-100,000 SEK
Total: around 400,000-600,000 SEK
Unitary patent
Should you opt for a unitary patent instead of individually validated patents, this will be valid in an additional ten EU member states and the sum total will be reduced: you will only need a single translation and the renewal fees for 11 years will add up to approximately 70.000 SEK
Please note
The patent applicants' costs in the examples have been estimated on the basis of conditions set in some typical cases. PRV would like point out that the total amounts are only approximate. Time and costs can vary considerably in different cases, even when the conditions appear to be the same. The patent application's scope and complexity, agent contributions and translation needs are factors that particularly affect the picture of costs.
