On March 25, 2022, China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced new annuities for design patents.
As the 4th amendment of China patent law prescribes that the patent term for design patents is 15 years, in contrast to the previous 10-year patent term, it is necessary to develop the fee schedules for the annuities for each of the 11th through the 15th year. According to NDRC's announcement, for design patents, from the 11th year to the 15th year, the annuity is RMB3,000 (about US$472) per year. Patent annuities should be paid on an annual basis according to Chinese practice.
In addition, as China will formally become a member of the Hague Agreement on May 5, 2022, it is also necessary to develop the renewal fee schedules for the designs filed through the Hague system. According to NDRC's announcement, for the designs filed through the Hague system, the individual designation fees at the renewal stage are as follows.
1st renewal (1-5 year) RMB4,100 (about US$645);
2nd renewal (6-10 year) RMB7,600 (about US$1,195);
3rd renewal (11-15 year) RMB15,000 (about US$2,358).
The above fees will be implemented as of May 5, 2022.
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