Ecuador – Decrease in Official Filing Fees
In 2012, Ecuador hiked their fees payable to the Ecuadorian Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) by up to 3629% in some cases. These patent fee hikes were so disproportionate to any patent office in history, Ecuador solidified themselves as a difficult to impossible destination for many applicants to file into financially.
Thankfully, Ecuador decreased their rates in terms procedures and patent annuities by up to 90% this August. A table breaking down these fees in comparison to previous years is provided below:
| Former Fees | Current Fees | |
| Patent Application Filing | $2,816.13 | $495.33 |
| Examination | $1,510.40 | $596.49 |
| Patent Annual Maintenance | ||
| Year 1 | $1,143.42 | $125.00 |
| Year 2 | $1,331.42 | $145.00 |
| Year 3 | $1,551.43 | $168.20 |
| Year 4 | $1,807.16 | $195.11 |
| Year 5 | $2,105.05 | $226.33 |
| Year 6 | $2,452.03 | $262.54 |
| Year 67 | $2,856.21 | $304.55 |
| Year 8 | $3,327.02 | $353.28 |
| Year 9 | $3,875.43 | $409.80 |
| Year 10 | $4,514.23 | $475.23 |
| Year 11 | $5,258.34 | $551.43 |
| Year 12 | $6,125.10 | $639.66 |
| Year 13 | $7,134.73 | $742.00 |
| Year 14 | $8,310.78 | $860.00 |
| Year 15 | $9,680.69 | $998.44 |
| Year 16 | $11,276.41 | $1,158.19 |
| Year 17 | $13,135.16 | $1,343.50 |
| Year 18 | $15,300.30 | $1,558.46 |
| Year 19 | $17,822.33 | $1,807.81 |
| Year 29 | $20,760.07 | $2,097.06 |
What do you think of Ecuador’s decision to reverse their 2012 patent fee hikes?