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Fees for design protection

Fees for design applications
For an initial term of protection of five years (with publication of the representation of the design): Amount
Individual application of a design
for electronic filing (fee number: 341 000) 60 euros
for paper-based filing (fee number: 341 100) 70 euros
Multiple application
for electronic filing (fee number: 341 200)
- per design

6 euros
minimum fee: 60 euro
for paper-based filing (fee number: 341 300)
- per design

7 euros
minimum fee: 70 euros
For an initial period of protection of 30 months (deferment of the publication of the representation of the design):
Individual application of a design (fee number: 341 400) 30 euros
Multiple application (fee number: 341 500)
- per design

3 euros
minimum fee: 30 euros
Examples
Individual application (electronic) 60 euros
Individual application 70 euros
Multiple application with 15 designs (electronic) 90 euros
Multiple application with 15 designs 105 euros
Individual application if the publication of the representation is deferred 30 euros
Multiple application with 45 designs if the publication of the representation is deferred 135 euros

Extension fees
Individual application (fee number: 341 600) 40 euros
Multiple application (fee number: 341 700) - per registered design 4 euros
- minimum fee: 40 euros
Please note: The extension fees must be paid within the deferment period – that means within 30 months from the date of filing (or priority date).
Renewal fees
For each design registered (also in a multiple registration): Amount
for the 6th to the 10th year of protection for each design registered (fee number: 342 100) 90 euros
for the 11th to the 15th year of protection for each design registered (fee number: 342 200) 120 euros
for the 16th to the 20th year of protection for each design registered (fee number: 342 300) 150 euros
for the 21st to the 25th year of protection for each design registered (fee number: 342 400) 180 euros
Surcharge for late payment for each design registered 50 euros
Please note: The renewal fees must be paid for the following period of protection (that means after five, ten, 15 and 20 years) until the end of the second month following the month of filing. After the expiry of these two months, the renewal fees can be paid within a further four-month period provided a surcharge for late payment of 50 euros is paid for each design.
Fees in invalidity proceedings
Application fee for each design registered (fee number: 346 100) 300 euros

Payment periods and notices

  • After filing your design application you will receive an acknowledgment of receipt with your file number. The DPMA does not send out any invoices or fee notifications.
  • The amount of the fees is communicated to you together with the acknowledgement of receipt. Please note that the payment period starts to run as from the date of filing of the application, that means irrespective of when you receive the acknowledgement of receipt.
  • Please make sure that the application fee is received at the DPMA within three months after the date of filing. Otherwise the application is deemed to be withdrawn by operation of law (section 6(2) of the Patent Costs Act [Patentkostengesetz]).
  • Application fees are request fees, which are forfeited upon filing the request and payment, irrespective of the outcome of the registration procedure. Application fees cannot be refunded.
  • Initially, the design is protected for five years. At the beginning of the sixth year you have to pay the renewal fees to extend the term of protection to a further five years; you will not receive an invitation to pay the fees.
  • The renewal fees are payable for each registered design, even if they are designs of a multiple application. You have the option to seek renewal of protection for only some selected designs of the multiple application. In this case, please send a written communication to the design unit of the DPMA, indicating the design numbers, for which you seek renewal of design protection (request for partial renewal). You can send the communication by post to the central postal address of the DPMA (German Patent and Trade Mark Office, 80297 Munich, Germany) or transmit it directly by fax to the design unit (+49 3641 40-5800).
  • The renewal fee is due on the last day of the month in which the term of protection ends. Then, you have two months to pay the renewal fee without surcharge and a further four months to pay the fee with a surcharge of 50 euros for each registered design.

When is the renewal fee due? - An example:

The filing date of your design is 15 June 2017. The first renewal fee is due on 30 June 2022. If you have not paid the renewal fee by 31 August 2022 , a surcharge for late payment of 50 euros will be due. Then you will still have time until 31 December 2022 to pay the renewal fee AND the surcharge. If you fail to pay within that last time limit or fail to pay the full amount, design protection will lapse.

  • The day of payment is crucial for the observance of the term of payment. The day of payment depends on the the mode of payment.
  • Advance payment of the renewal fee may be made one year before expiry of the respective term of protection at the earliest.

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Last updated: 23 February 2023