Patents (Amendment) Regulations, 2025 (No. 18)
Patent fees are now tiered: filing costs US$15 for an individual, US$20 for an SME and US$50 for a company, and all 20 years of renewals can be prepaid for US$150, US$200 or US$750.
The First Schedule to the Patents Regulations, 1971 is repealed and replaced, and the 2023 fee amendment (SI 98 of 2023) is repealed with it. Fees are in US dollars across three tiers: women, students, universities, research institutions and individuals; SMEs; and corporate bodies.
Applying for a patent or patent of addition costs US$15, US$20 or US$50. Filing a provisional specification is US$10, US$15 or US$50; a complete specification is US$15, US$20 or US$50.
Renewals are charged per year in bands. The fourth to tenth years are US$10, US$15 or US$50 for each year; the eleventh to fifteenth are US$15, US$20 or US$120 each year; the sixteenth to twentieth are US$20, US$25 or US$60 each year. Note that the corporate rate falls from US$120 to US$60 as a patent moves from its fifteenth to its sixteenth year, which is the only band in the table where a later year is cheaper than an earlier one. Prepaying all twenty years of renewal annuities on filing costs US$150, US$200 or US$750. Extending time to pay a renewal fee, up to six months, is US$10, US$15 or US$40 per month, and restoring a lapsed patent is US$25, US$40 or US$100.
A compulsory licence application is US$25, US$40 or US$200. An appeal to the Patents Tribunal from the Registrar is US$15, US$20 or US$200. Copies per page and general searches are US$1 at every tier; a lodging box is US$120 a year. Security for costs under section 73 is US$25, US$40 or US$400 — and the published table carries the words "(CHECK ACT)" beside that entry, an unresolved drafting note that has been gazetted as part of the schedule.
Claiming a research institution, academic institution, student or SME rate requires the declaration of entity form gazetted with the instrument. An SME is defined by employees and assets: micro 1–5 and up to US$30 000, small 6–30 and US$30 001–500 000, medium 31–75 and US$500 001–1 000 000. Local applicants may pay in Zimbabwean dollars at the prevailing bank rate; foreign applicants pay in US dollars. No commencement date is stated; the instrument was gazetted on 18 April 2025.
What changed
- The First Schedule to the Patents Regulations, 1971 (SI 1152 of 1971) is repealed and replaced.
- The Patents (Amendment) Regulations, 2023 (No. 17) (SI 98 of 2023) are repealed.
- Application for a patent or patent of addition: US$15, US$20 or US$50 by tier.
- Renewal per year: US$10/15/50 for years four to ten, US$15/20/120 for years eleven to fifteen, US$20/25/60 for years sixteen to twenty.
- The corporate renewal rate drops from US$120 to US$60 between the fifteenth and sixteenth years — the only band where a later year costs less.
- Prepaying all twenty years of renewals on filing: US$150, US$200 or US$750.
- Restoration of a lapsed patent: US$25, US$40 or US$100; extension of time to renew US$10/15/40 per month up to six months.
- Compulsory licence application: US$25, US$40 or US$200; appeal to the Patents Tribunal US$15, US$20 or US$200.
- Security for costs under section 73 is US$25/40/400, and the gazetted table carries an unresolved editorial note, "(CHECK ACT)", against that entry.
- A declaration of entity form must accompany any application claiming the student, research institution or SME rate.
Who this affects
- patent applicants and holders in Zimbabwe
- SMEs claiming the reduced tier
- women, students, universities and research institutions claiming the lowest tier
- patent agents and intellectual property lawyers
- foreign applicants paying in US dollars
Plain-language summary — not legal advice. Always read the full instrument.