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Report of the Committee on EPO Finances
J. Boff (GB), Chair
Since the 89th Council Meeting the Committee has been considering the paper CA/F27/20 (mentioned briefly in the Report to the 89th Council Meeting).
CA/F27/20 mentions the possibility of structural reforms to fees and is concerned about:
- Sustainability of the EPO
- Increasing revenue for the EPO (which is not the same as increasing fees)
- Efficiency of the EPO
Some principles/aims of CA/F27/20 are:
- Simplification of the fee structure
- Steering applicant behaviour through fee incentives/disincentives
- Aligning the structure of Euro-direct and (Euro-)PCT fees
- Improving the cost coverage of certain products and services
- Support for certain categories of applicants
While without any proposal from the Office as yet, the Committee have prepared a non-paper for discussion with the Office, with a view to ascertaining which, if any, align with the aims of the Office and offer potential improvements in practice (which can be found on the epi website https://patentepi.org/r/info-2102-01).
