Following the Decision of the Administrative Council of 14 December 2022, the European Patent Office (EPO) has announced a general increase in official fees by 4-6% from 1 April 2023 – just a year after its last fee increase in April 2022. Full breakdown of the increases is available on the EPO website.The fees with the largest increase include excess pages, excess claims per claim 16-50, and examination, whilst the filing fee for an application in character-coded format is the only one to decrease in price.With the increases in mind, it might be sensible to pay certain fees early, before the rates go up. For example, requesting examination and paying renewal fees can be performed several months ahead of the official deadline so applicants may find it worthwhile to review their patent portfolios and check if any fee payments can be made ahead of the 1 April 2023.For more information about the fee increases and how they may affect you, as well as to discuss any potential cost savings, please get in touch with your usual Mathys & Squire attorney, or send us an enquiry.