1. By decision of 12 December 2019,^[ 1 ] the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation revised the reduction scheme introduced in 2009^[ 2 ]
in respect of the fees for the international search and the
international preliminary examination carried out on international
applications filed by nationals of certain states. The purpose of this
re-published Notice is to provide for an up-to date list of states whose
nationals benefit from the fee reductions (Annex I).

2. Pursuant to Article 11(3)(iii) of the Agreement between the EPO and WIPO under the PCT,^[ 3 ]
Annex D of the agreement has been revised with effect from 1 April 2020
to take into account the decision of the Administrative Council.

3. The fees for the international search,
the supplementary international search and the international preliminary
examination carried out on international applications under Article 2, paragraph 1, items 2 and 19, of the Rules relating to Fees will
be reduced by 75% if the international application, the request for
supplementary international search or the demand for international
preliminary examination is filed by an applicant:

– where said applicant or, if there are two
or more applicants, each applicant is a natural person who is a national
and resident of a state that is not party to the European Patent
Convention and that, on the date of filing of the application or on the
date of payment of the supplementary international search fee or of the
international preliminary examination fee, is classified by the World
Bank as a low-income or lower-middle-income economy as shown in Annex I
to this notice

– where said applicant or, if there are two
or more applicants, each applicant is a natural or legal person who,
within the meaning of Rule 18 of the Patent Cooperation Treaty, is a national and resident of a state in which a validation agreement with the European Patent Organisation is in force.

4. Currently, the following states fall
under the second category: Morocco (MA), the Republic of Moldova (MD),
Tunisia (TN) and Cambodia (KH).

5. The present notice is an updated version of the Notice^[ 4 ]
dated 10 July 2020 which is hereby superseded. The reduction of the
international search fee applies to all international applications filed
on or after 1 July 2021. The reduction of the supplementary
international search fee or the international preliminary examination
fee applies in respect of payments made on or after 1 July 2021.
According to the present classification of states as low-income or
lower-middle income economies, Belize, Indonesia, the Islamic Republic
of Iran and Samoa were added and the Republic of Moldova removed from
the previous list (see Annex I below).

ANNEX I

States classified as low-income and
lower-middle-income economies by the World Bank (as of 1 July 2021) (in
bold: PCT contracting states)

^[ 1 ] CA/D 13/19 of 12.12.2019, OJ EPO 2020, A4.

^[ 2 ] CA/D 7/08 of 21.10.2008, OJ EPO 11/2008, 521.

^[ 3 ] OJ EPO 2017, A115.

^[ 4 ] OJ EPO 2020, A91.