Patents, utility models and designs
What the Japan Patent Office charges and what we charge are both shown in full below. The only item we quote per case is the preparation of design drawings — before any work starts, never after.
Send a copy of your priority application or PCT application to nh.koiwa@kaipat.com. You will get a figure and a schedule, from the attorney.
A Japanese patent application is examined only once you request examination, and you have three years from the filing date to decide. That gap is worth using: file early to hold the priority date, then commit to the cost of examination when you know whether the invention has earned it.
For patents, we act as your filing representative and patent administrator in Japan: we file the documents you provide, request examination, report office actions, file the responses you prepare and manage annuities. We do not draft patent specifications or prepare responses to office actions.
| Stage | JPO official fee | Our fee |
|---|---|---|
| Filing (documents provided by you) | US$93.4 | US$1,200 |
| Claiming priority | — | US$150 |
| Request for examination | US$920 + US$26.7 / claim | US$225 |
| Filing a written argument or amendment prepared by you | — | US$300 |
| Annuities, years 1–3 | US$28.7 / year + US$2.0 / claim | US$225 |
| Annuities, years 4–6 | US$68.7 / year + US$5.4 / claim | US$225 |
| Annuities, years 7–9 | US$165.4 / year + US$12.7 / claim | US$225 |
| Annuities, years 10–25 | US$396.0 / year + US$30.7 / claim | US$225 |
Official fees are converted at a reference rate of JPY 150 = US$1 and are revised if the exchange rate moves significantly. Our fees are for payment by bank transfer; payment by PayPal costs slightly more. Translations between English and Japanese are prepared using machine translation. Accelerated examination is available in some circumstances, and official fee reductions exist for small entities, start-ups and individuals — ask whether you qualify, because they are substantial.
A utility model covers the shape or construction of an article. It registers without substantive examination, so protection arrives quickly — useful where the product cycle is short and a patent would issue after the market has moved on. The trade-off is that you must obtain a technical opinion from the JPO before you can enforce it.
| Stage | JPO official fee | Our fee |
|---|---|---|
| Filing (excluding drafting of the specification) | US$93.4 | US$1,200 |
| Registration, years 1–3 | US$14.0 / year + US$0.7 / claim | included |
| Annuities, years 4–6 | US$40.7 / year + US$2.0 / claim | US$225 |
| Annuities, years 7–10 | US$120.7 / year + US$6.0 / claim | US$225 |
Registration fees for years 1 to 3 are payable in a single three-year lump sum at the time of filing.
A design registration protects what a product looks like — its shape, pattern and colour, and since the 2020 reform also screen designs, interiors and building exteriors. Japan examines design applications, and the drawings carry most of the weight. We prepare them from your photographs or CAD data where you have no formal drawings.
| Stage | JPO official fee | Our fee |
|---|---|---|
| Filing | US$106.7 | US$450 |
| Claiming priority | — | US$150 |
| Argument or amendment, prepared by us | — | US$750 |
| Argument or amendment, prepared by you | — | US$225 |
| Annuities, years 1–3 | US$56.7 / year | US$225 |
| Annuities, years 4–25 | US$112.7 / year | US$225 |
| Search of earlier Japanese designs | — | US$450 |
Our filing fee excludes preparation of drawings, which is quoted once we have seen what you have.
Most of our patent work arrives as a PCT national phase entry or a Paris Convention filing claiming priority from a home application. Send the specification, the claims as you want them in Japan, and the deadline. Translations are prepared using machine translation.
We do not mark up Japan Patent Office official fees. The figures in the tables above are the JPO’s own, converted at the reference rate.
If you are an attorney or agent instructing Japanese associate counsel, we keep a full schedule of fees covering patents, utility models, designs and trademarks, with bank wire and PayPal rates. Current edition 2026.08, sent on request.
Write to nh.koiwa@kaipat.com and we will send it the same business day. We report in English, and the attorney who handles your case is the one who answers your email.