Court fees and costs (UPC)

Court costs before the Unified Patent Court include the fees owed to the Court and the representation and expert costs incurred by the parties. Their regime is set by the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court, by the Rules of Procedure and by the scale adopted by the Administrative Committee. Court costs are higher than in France but remain lower than the combined cost of several national proceedings, which is one of the economic arguments in favour of the UPC.

Court fees

First, the infringement action gives rise to a fixed fee, supplemented by a value-based fee where the value of the dispute exceeds a threshold, according to a progressive scale. Next, the revocation action brought as a principal action and the counterclaim for revocation give rise to fixed fees, the second being capped. Finally, the appeal gives rise to its own fees. Reductions are granted to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, natural persons, non-profit organisations, universities and public research organisations, as well as in case of early withdrawal or settlement. The amounts are set by decision of the Administrative Committee and revised periodically: they must be checked on the date of the action on the website of the Unified Patent Court.

The schedule of fees applicable since 1 January 2026 was adopted by the decision of the Administrative Committee of 4 November 2025. The fixed fee for an infringement action rose from 11,000 to 14,600 euros and the fee for a revocation action from 20,000 to 26,500 euros, an application for provisional measures now carries a value-based fee in addition to its fixed fee, and the fee for an application to preserve evidence rose from 350 to 5,000 euros. Small and micro enterprises pay half of the fees, compared with 60% previously, and 65% of the fees are reimbursed where a settlement is reached through the Patent Mediation and Arbitration Centre before the closure of the interim procedure.

Allocation of costs and recovery ceilings

The losing party bears in principle the reasonable and proportionate court costs of the successful party, up to ceilings set according to the value of the dispute, on a scale ranging from a few tens of thousands of euros for small disputes to several million euros for very high-value disputes. The Court may raise or lower these ceilings in exceptional cases, and apportion costs where each party is partly successful. A party may apply for security for costs. Expert and translation costs follow the same regime.

Key points

In practice, the value of the dispute, declared by the claimant and controlled by the Court, determines both the fees and the ceiling of recoverable costs: setting it is a strategic choice from the statement of claim. The budget of an action before the UPC must include the risk of being ordered to pay the opponent’s costs, which is one of the elements in assessing litigation funding. The firm draws up these budgets, as presented on the page attorney before the Unified Patent Court.

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This glossary entry is general in scope and does not constitute legal advice.

Dhenne Avocats litigates patent disputes before the Paris Judicial Court, the Paris Court of Appeal and the Unified Patent Court. Where the question arises in a real case, the useful moment is almost always before proceedings are issued.

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