New regulations and official fees for patent annuities in Uzbekistan

The Uzbekistan Patent Office recently announced changes in the payment of patent annuities, as well as new official fees, effective immediately.

Under the new rules, annuities are still due only after a patent has been granted, but the tax base date will be the patent filing date, (or the international filing date, in cases of the national phase of a PCT application) rather than the patent grant date.

In addition, annuities must now be paid annually until the end of the 20th year of validity, rather than ending after the 11th year.

This new practice will apply to new and existing patents. As a transition, existing rights holders must pay a fee for the period between the date on which their patents were maintained previously and the next anniversary date of their patents, calculated from the filing date. If this period is less than six months, the official annuity fee will be reduced (only after examination by the Patent Office). If this period is more than six months, the fee for a complete year must be paid.

Subsequently, annuities will be due before each anniversary of the patent, calculated from the filing date.

For more information, contact Loic Dufour.