tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352189175211648260.post5070946874689881231..comments2023-10-24T14:45:41.342+02:00Comments on K’s Law: J 16/11 – Indian Wrestlingorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07992102028406713066noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352189175211648260.post-19137639471983887212013-06-11T23:35:42.749+02:002013-06-11T23:35:42.749+02:00So the renewal fee and the additional fee for 2008...So the renewal fee and the additional fee for 2008 were paid too late. Will they now be reimbursed?<br /><br />The renewal fee for 2009 was paid in time. Will it also be reimbursed?<br /><br />The renewal fees for 2010-2013 were never paid. What if the appeal had succeeded. Would the application have been dead anyway?<br /><br />I think the answers are yes/yes/yes. If that is correct, the appeal had the best possible outcome for the applicant.Myshkinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352189175211648260.post-14041581696901429482013-06-11T23:29:13.074+02:002013-06-11T23:29:13.074+02:00Whether 200 euro for this is "measly" or...Whether 200 euro for this is "measly" or not, the "fee for attending to the matter" is said to be $65.<br /><br />Let's see. The European attorney asked for $676.09. That would seem to be the € 400 for the actual renewal fee plus a handling fee of about € 50 (based on the exchanged rate indicated by Roufousse).<br /><br />The US attorney then adds 30%, rounds this down to $875 and adds its own handling fee of $65.<br /><br />That two handling fees are charged is fair enough. But the 30% increase?<br /><br />On the other hand, the letter only mentions an "estimated cost" and does not ask for payment but for instructions. Maybe the 30% is added just to be safe and the client is only charged the $676.09 plus $65? The letter also seems to anticipate the cost of the annuities in later years (in which case they might be surprised to find out that the renewal fees charged by "their government" in later years increase by far more than 30%).Myshkinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352189175211648260.post-28231823684811351392013-06-10T08:52:51.359+02:002013-06-10T08:52:51.359+02:00Roufousse,
I read your comment as if you believe ...Roufousse,<br /><br />I read your comment as if you believe somebody is profiting tremendously and unjustifiably from a renewal fee payment.<br /><br />I need to take issue here. If the applicant had paid, he would have paid circa 600 Euro, for a renewal fee of 400 Euro.<br /><br />So for a measly 200 Euro, two patent attorneys, one in Europe and one in the US, need to<br />keep track of deadlines, <br />review incoming mail and report appropriately to the client, <br />keep track of responses, <br />send reminders, <br />explain to the customer on the phone why he needs to pay<br />act on instructions to pay<br />pre-fund the renewal fee<br />invoice<br />run the risk of invoices not being paid (sending reminders for that as well)<br />document every action<br />store the documents in case of future disputes.<br /><br />I think the client was charged an extremely low price for all of these services. An absolute bargain.Kuifjenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352189175211648260.post-57625185511114743312013-06-10T05:18:20.418+02:002013-06-10T05:18:20.418+02:00The request for reestablishment included the follo...The request for reestablishment included the following letter from the applicant's US attorney:<br /><br /><i>Our foreign associate has informed us that an annuity is due in Europe for the abobe identified patent application. This fee is due by March 14, 2008 at an estimated cost of $875.00. Our fee for attending the matter is $65.00.<br /><br />These annuities are paid annually. In order to estimate the increase in fees, we normally multiply today's rate by 30%. We do this as their government [sic] sets the actual amount in their local currency. Government fees are subject to increase and currency exchange rates fluctuate, sometimes dramatically.</i><br /><br />I'm not sure what the second paragraph is supposed to mean. One interpretation is that the "30%" is an unrefundable surcharge.<br /><br />From January to March 2008 the <a href="http://www.x-rates.com/average/?from=USD&to=EUR&amount=1&year=2008" rel="nofollow">exchange rate</a> hovered in the range 1 USD = 0.64-0.68 EUR.<br /><br />The third year <a href="http://www.epoline.org/portal/portal/default/epoline.Scheduleoffees/PublicScheduleOfFeesWindow?mode=view&action=e&windowstate=normal" rel="nofollow">renewal fee</a> was 400 EUR in those days.<br /><br />This works out to 625 USD when the most unfavorable rate is taken. 875 USD represents a surcharge of about 40%, and at 68 eurocents to the dollar, that makes almost 50%...<br /><br />I wonder how much of that markup came from the the European side. Not bad for assuming the forex risk between the world's two strongest currencies... To which a 65 USD handling fee must be added.Roufousse T. Fairflynoreply@blogger.com