Several things determine the cost of patent protection:

• Possible translations of the patent application for the various countries. (Patents are usually granted in the national language and thus translation costs can be very high!)
• Retaining a patent attorney
• The countries in which protection is sought
• Patent and technology searches
• Number of patent claims
• Patent fees

The fees usually make up the smallest share of the total costs. A valid patent for Switzerland and Liechtenstein costs CHF 200 for the application and CHF 500 for the examination.

Annual renewal fees are due starting from the fourth year until the twentieth year after the date of filing. For the fourth year after filing, they amount to CHF 100, after which they increase each year, i.e. the more mature the patent, the more it costs to protect it.
 

Further information

• Patent fees (Switzerland and international)
• www.epo.org: The European Patent Office (EPO) can tell you the average cost of a European patent and what is known as a Euro-PCT patent. (For an explanation of these two application/granting procedures, go to the page Three routes to patent protection).