EPO Fee Increases (Again) On April 1st, 2009

No, this is not a joke! The European Patent Office (EPO) will enforce (link) a new Fee Schedule starting on April 1, 2009.

Here are some examples of the new Fee Schedule:

-an excess claim fee of 200 euro/claim will be due for each claim in excess of 15.

-an excess claim fee of 500 euro/claim will be due for the 51st and subsequent claim.

-a fee of 12 euro/page will be due for each page in excess of 35 in an application.

-Designation fee will be simplified to a single payment of 500 euro which will secure all states.

Will some of the patent offices offer price reductions considering the current recession?