Request for Patent Examination Fee Lowered in Japan

July 8, 2011: The Japanese Patent Office has reduced the patent examination fee from 200,000 Yen to approximately 150, 000 Yen. As many of the readers would know, request for examination in Japan is made within three years from filing date of the application. The revised fee will be effective from August 1, 2011. Thus, patent examination requests after August 1, 2011 are eligible for the lower fee.

I have illustrated the patent filing process in Japan for the benefit of readers: