The UK Intellectual Property Office (UK IPO) has published new details and guidance this month concerning its plans to increase official fees, first announced in late 2025.
Rates will increase by an average of 25% across the full suite of patents, trade marks and designs fees. This is the first adjustment to official fees since 2018 for patents, 2016 for designs, and 1998 for trade marks. The guidance includes tables which set out a comparison between the old and new fees.
The UK IPO has introduced the fee rises in response to the 32% rise in inflation since 2016, and to enable it to continue to invest in its systems and services, stating that measures taken to improve efficiency and processes can no longer offset cost pressures.
The new fee structure will come into effect from 1 April 2026, subject to parliamentary approval.
One particular point to note is that, in certain cases, it will be possible to renew IP rights early to avoid the increased fees. According to the guidance, the old fees will be applied for the following IP rights if renewed before 1 April 2026:
Rightsholders should consider how the fee changes may affect their portfolios and future budgets. It is also advisable to instruct any new UK IPO work which is being contemplated now, so that filings can be completed before the fee changes take effect on 1 April. This is especially important for bigger programmes of work such as large filing, renewal or recordal projects, where the fee increases could cumulatively result in a significant rise in overall project costs.
Please contact your usual Boult adviser if you have any questions about the implications of the forthcoming UK IPO fee rises for your IP portfolio.
