German patent application time and cost

According to the DPMA, if an applicant requests substantive examination when filing a new application, it typically takes about 2.5 years for a patent application to be granted. In particular, for first-time applications in Germany, the first examination opinion regarding patentability is typically received within nine months of the filing date.

The average grant fee for a German patent application depends on several factors:

• Complexity of the application
• Number of prior art documents cited by DPMA
• Length of the review process

On average, the total cost of a German patent application, including official fees and attorney fees, typically ranges between €4,000 and €8,000, excluding the costs of drafting a new application.

Expedited review process

According to Article 2.3.2 of the German Patent Examination Guidelines, an applicant may request accelerated examination “where there are legitimate reasons for requesting acceleration.” Typically, an accelerated request is only valid for the next procedural stage, but if the request is specifically indicated, subsequent procedures may also be accelerated.

• Global Patent Prosecution Highway (GPPH)
  • Requests for expedited examination can be made through the Global Patent Prosecution Highway (GPPH). GPPH is free of charge. Participation requires that a patent application with the same content and filing date or priority date has been filed at a GPPH partner office and that the first patent office has deemed at least one claim patentable. Therefore, the applicant must have received a patent application or a positive PCT search report.
• Other measures
  • Filing a request for examination and paying the examination fee in advance can expedite the examination process. A request for examination can be delayed for up to seven years. Submitting an informal letter to the examiner or contacting the examiner by phone is helpful, as it often provides information on when to expect a further examination action.