{"id":53400,"date":"2025-12-09T12:45:57","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T11:45:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.maiwald.eu\/?post_type=maiwald-blog&#038;p=53400"},"modified":"2025-12-09T12:45:57","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T11:45:57","slug":"new-fee-schedule-for-the-unified-patent-court-upc-from-1-january-2026","status":"publish","type":"maiwald-blog","link":"https:\/\/www.maiwald.eu\/cn\/maiwald-blog\/new-fee-schedule-for-the-unified-patent-court-upc-from-1-january-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"New fee schedule for the Unified Patent Court (UPC) from 1 January 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The Administrative Committee of the UPC has decided on a comprehensive reform of court fees, which will come into force on 1 January 2026. The adjustment affects almost all fee items, from classic lawsuits to interim measures and procedural motions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Important changes at a glance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>General adjustment: Fixed fees will be increased in line with inflation (by up to approx. 33%).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Introduction or increase of fees based on the value in dispute, e.g. for appeals, interim measures, applications for injunctions, etc.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Significant increase in fees for preservation of evidence, inspection orders and similar measures.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Revision of the cost and reimbursement regime, including adjustments for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Typical costs \u2014 examples<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><td><strong>Procedure \/ Application<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Old fee rate*<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>New fee rate<br>(from 1 January 2026)<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Infringement action<\/td><td>Fixed: \u20ac11,000 + value-based fee depending on the amount in dispute (e.g. up to \u20ac5 million = \u20ac32,000)<\/td><td>Fixed: \u20ac14,600 + significantly higher value fee (e.g. up to \u20ac5 million = \u20ac44,600)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Counterclaim for annulment<\/td><td>As for infringement proceedings, with a fee cap of \u20ac20,000<\/td><td>Same fee as for infringement action, with a fee cap of \u20ac26,500<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Isolated action for annulment<\/td><td>Fixed: \u20ac20,000<\/td><td>Fixed: \u20ac26,500<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Applications for preservation of evidence\/inspection<\/td><td>Previously: \u20ac350<\/td><td>New: \u20ac5,000 fixed fee (plus additional fees, if applicable)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Protective letter<\/td><td>Previously: \u20ac200 (submission); \u20ac100 (extension)<\/td><td>New: \u20ac300 (submission) \/ \u20ac130 (extension)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>* The &#8220;old&#8221; rates are examples and may vary depending on the specific procedure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Significance and practical implications<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For patent owners and defence counsel, this means that anyone planning to initiate proceedings before the UPC from next year onwards, whether it be an infringement action, a nullity action, proceedings for the preservation of evidence or a protective letter, should definitely include the new fees in their cost planning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Proceedings involving multiple applications, such as parallel infringement and preservation of evidence or a combination of an action and a preliminary injunction, are particularly affected. In such cases, the costs may increase significantly compared to the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition, the amount in dispute plays an even greater role: in the case of high claims or extensive damages and exploitation interests, the fees increase accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, there are also provisions that are adapted to the cost and reimbursement regime, such as reimbursement options or discounts for SMEs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Recommendations for patent owners and defence counsel<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Early cost and strategy assessment: <\/strong>In the case of larger proceedings or planned protective measures, sound cost and budget planning should be carried out now.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Weighing up procedural tactics and strategic approaches: <\/strong>Whether a lawsuit, counterclaim or protective letter is appropriate should be assessed on a case-by-case basis.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Consideration of value fees for higher amounts in dispute: <\/strong>Particularly in the case of extensive claims for damages or licence fees, it is worthwhile to assess the expected amount in dispute at an early stage.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/Administrative Committee adopts amendments to the Table of Court fees of the Unified Patent Court | Unified Patent Court\">More information<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-53400","maiwald-blog","type-maiwald-blog","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maiwald.eu\/cn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/maiwald-blog\/53400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maiwald.eu\/cn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/maiwald-blog"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maiwald.eu\/cn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/maiwald-blog"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.maiwald.eu\/cn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/maiwald-blog\/53400\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53406,"href":"https:\/\/www.maiwald.eu\/cn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/maiwald-blog\/53400\/revisions\/53406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maiwald.eu\/cn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}