On May 6, 2013, a notification appeared in the Official Gazette (which publishes notices from the Indian Government), proposing a significant increase in the official fees for filing patent applications (including original, convention and PCT applications) in the Indian Patent Office (IPO). According to the notification, IPO intends to double the current fees for most patent filings, especially fees for filing a new application, fees associated with filing of an excess number of claims (presently, claims in excess of 10 require the payment of an additional $19 U.S. dollars (USD) per claim) and fees associated with filing an excess number of pages (presently, if a specification (including the claims, abstract and drawings) contains more than 30 pages, an additional fee of $10 USD per page is required). Moreover, IPO is proposing a surcharge of 10% for Applicants who choose to file their patent applications in paper rather than electronically using India’s electronic filing system.

Objections to the notification are due by June 21, 2013 and the draft is likely to be tabled for acceptance before the Indian Parliament during the Monsoon session commencing on July 26, 2013.  In view of this, it is expected that these proposed fees will not likely become effective for another 1-2 months, at the earliest. Applicants with convention and PCT National Phase applications in the near future, who wish to take advantage of the currently lower fee schedule, should consider filing their applications no later than August 1, 2013, just to be on the safe side.