How to register a patent in Peru: requirements, costs and timelines
What you need to register a patent, how much it costs to patent a product and how long it takes. Patenting has two costs: the official fees paid to INDECOPI, at two different stages of the procedure, and the professional fees of whoever drafts and prosecutes the application. Here we explain the requirements, how much is paid, when it is paid and how long each stage takes, with the time limits set by Andean Community Decision 486.
First things first: patent or trademark?
Many people search for “patenting a product” when what they actually need is to register their trademark. They are different forms of protection, with different costs and timelines. It pays to be clear on this before paying any fee.
I don't want anyone copying my product
If your product solves a technical problem in a new way (a mechanism, a tool, a formula, a device), what is protected is the invention, and the route is a patent. It stops others from making or selling that solution, whatever they call it. That is the procedure this page explains.
I don't want anyone using my name or logo
If the product is not technically new, but you want nobody else selling under your name or logo, what you need is a trademark. The exclusive right to a trademark is acquired through registration (art. 154). See what it costs to register a trademark →
A new product may need both: the patent protects how it works, and the trademark protects the name it is known by in the market.
Requirements to register a patent
There are two kinds of requirements: those the invention must meet, which the examiner assesses in the substantive examination, and the documents the application must contain. The articles cited are from Decision 486.
What the invention must meet
Invention patent (art. 14):
- Novelty: it must not have been made available to the public, by written or oral description, use, sale or any other means, before the filing date (art. 16).
- Inventive step: it must not be obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the relevant technical field (art. 18).
- Industrial application: it must be capable of being made or used in any kind of industry, including services (art. 19).
Utility model: novelty and technical advantage, that is, a new shape, configuration or arrangement of elements that gives the object a utility, advantage or technical effect it did not have before (art. 81).
In both cases, the description must be clear and complete enough for a skilled person to carry out the invention (art. 28), and the claims must be clear, concise and fully supported by the description (art. 30).
What documents the application includes
Under article 26, the application contains:
- the request, on a form, with the details of the applicant, the inventor and the title of the invention (art. 27);
- the description of the invention;
- one or more claims, which define what is protected;
- the drawings, where needed to understand it;
- the abstract;
- the powers of attorney, if a representative acts;
- proof of payment of the fee.
Where applicable: the access contract if the invention was developed from genetic resources, the license to use traditional knowledge, the biological material deposit certificate and the document assigning the right from the inventor to the applicant.
Have you already shown or sold your product? A disclosure made by the inventor, or by a third party who obtained the information from the inventor, does not destroy novelty if it took place within the year before the application was filed (art. 17). After that year, your own disclosure can prevent the patent. If you have already disclosed it, file as soon as possible.
INDECOPI fees
The procedure fee is not paid in full up front. Part of it is due when the application is filed, and the balance only when substantive examination is requested after publication.
| When it is paid | Invention patent | Utility model |
|---|---|---|
| Filing the application 55% of the fee for inventions, 70% for utility models | S/ 396.00 | S/ 226.80 |
| Request for substantive examination Invention: 6 months from publication · Utility model: 3 months | S/ 324.00 | S/ 97.20 |
| Total procedure fees | S/ 720.00 | S/ 324.00 |
The figure is not chosen on price: a utility model only covers objects with a shape and excludes processes (arts. 81 and 82). Why the choice is not always yours →
Annuities: the cost that comes later
An invention patent carries one more cost that many people do not anticipate: to keep the pending application, and later the granted patent, in force, an annual fee must be paid. Utility models do not have this payment.
The first annuity is paid on the first anniversary of the filing date. Each annuity is paid in advance and falls due on the last day of the month in which the application was filed: if it was filed on September 15, it falls due every year on September 30. Two or more annuities may be paid in advance. If the due date is missed, there is a six-month grace period to pay with a surcharge, during which the patent or application remains fully in force. If it is not paid within that period either, the patent or application lapses by operation of law (art. 80).
| Period | On time | In grace period |
|---|---|---|
| Pending application From the first anniversary of filing until grant | S/ 116.60 | S/ 180.50 |
| Granted patent, up to year 10 From grant until 10 years after the filing date | S/ 139.50 | S/ 180.50 |
| Years 11 to 20 The fee concept and tariff code change, not the amount | S/ 139.50 | S/ 180.50 |
Amounts per annuity. The grace-period amount already includes the surcharge. See worked examples with dates →
Examples: what a patent costs, and when
Invention patent
An invention patent application filed on September 15, 2026, without requesting early publication, and granted on October 21, 2030. This is an optimistic case: the patentability examination is favorable, with no objections. All dates are deadlines, and every payment is made on time, with no surcharge.
| Deadline | Item | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 15, 2026 | Filing the application 55% of the invention patent fee | S/ 396.00 |
| Sep 30, 2027 | 1st annuity First anniversary of filing | S/ 116.60 |
| Mar 15, 2028 | Publication of the application At 18 months; the DIN requests payment for substantive examination | — |
| Sep 15, 2028 | Substantive examination Six months from publication | S/ 324.00 |
| Oct 2, 2028 | 2nd annuity September 30 falls on a Saturday: moves to the next working day | S/ 116.60 |
| Oct 1, 2029 | 3rd annuity September 30 falls on a Sunday | S/ 116.60 |
| Sep 30, 2030 | 4th annuity Last one before grant | S/ 116.60 |
| Oct 21, 2030 | Patent granted Favorable patentability examination, no objections | — |
| Sep 30, 2031 | 5th annuity First annuity of the granted patent | S/ 139.50 |
| 2032 to 2045 | 6th to 19th annuity 14 payments of S/ 139.50, each September 30 or the next working day; the last one falls due on October 2, 2045 | S/ 1,953.00 |
| Sep 15, 2046 | Patent expires 20 years from filing (art. 50) | — |
| Fees up to grant Filing, substantive examination and 4 annuities of S/ 116.60 | S/ 1,186.40 | |
| Annuities after grant 15 annuities of S/ 139.50, from 2031 to 2045 | S/ 2,092.50 | |
| Total fees over 20 years | S/ 3,278.90 |
If the examination raises objections, there are more fees. Responding to an adverse patentability report usually involves additional payments for amended pages and further examinations, which are not included in this table.
When a due date falls on a non-working day, it moves to the next working day (art. 5). An annuity paid in the grace period costs S/ 180.50 instead of S/ 116.60 or S/ 139.50. Amounts are those of the current TUPA and may change in coming years. Professional fees are added to the official fees.
Utility model
A utility model application filed on September 18, 2026, in the same favorable scenario: no objections in the patentability examination and every payment made on time.
| Deadline | Item | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 18, 2026 | Filing the application 70% of the utility model fee | S/ 226.80 |
| Sep 20, 2027 | Publication of the application At 12 months (the 18th falls on a Saturday); the DIN requests payment for substantive examination | — |
| Dec 20, 2027 | Substantive examination Three months from publication | S/ 97.20 |
| Sep 18, 2036 | Utility model expires 10 years from filing (art. 84) | — |
| Total fees over 10 years Utility models pay no annuities | S/ 324.00 |
Those are all the payments. In a favorable scenario, a utility model only pays for filing and substantive examination, because it has no annuities. Even so, the figure is not chosen on price: it depends on what the invention is. Why the choice is not always yours →
Before filing: the prior art search
A patent is only granted if the invention is new. Knowing what already exists before drafting the application avoids paying fees for something that is already patented or published, and makes it possible to write claims that stand apart from it.
INDECOPI's search service
INDECOPI's TUPA includes a Patent technological information search, with a 10-working-day turnaround and a fee of S/ 201.60; each additional abstract costs S/ 4.90. Its result is not binding on the Directorate of Inventions and New Technologies when it examines the application.
Our search
That is why we do not use that service: we run our own search, which is more precise, across different patent databases chosen according to each invention's field. That result is what decides whether filing is worthwhile and how the claims should be drafted.
The procedure, step by step
This is how an application proceeds when nothing goes wrong. Invention patents and utility models follow the same stages, but for utility models time limits are halved, except publication, which takes place at 12 months (art. 85). Each stage shows both time limits. Unless another law is named, the articles cited are from Andean Community Decision 486.
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Filing the application
The application is filed with INDECOPI's Directorate of Inventions and New Technologies and the filing fee is paid: S/ 396.00 for an invention or S/ 226.80 for a utility model. For the application to receive a filing date, which is what establishes priority over third parties, it must contain at least (art. 33):
- an indication that a patent is being requested;
- the applicant's details, or details that allow the office to contact them;
- the description of the invention;
- the drawings, where relevant;
- proof of payment of the fee.
If any of these elements is missing, the application is not admitted for processing and receives no filing date.
-
Formal examination
The office checks that all documents required for the procedure are present (art. 38). In practice it usually responds within about two weeks, stating whether the application passed or has formal objections and giving the file number.
If there are objections, the applicant may correct them within the time limit, which can be extended once, on request, for an equal period (art. 39). If they are not corrected, the application is deemed abandoned.
Invention: 30 working days · Utility model: 15 working days
Corrections — Invention: 2 months + 2 · Utility model: 1 month + 1 -
Publication
Once the period from the filing date (or the claimed priority date) has elapsed, the file becomes public and the office orders its publication in INDECOPI's electronic Industrial Property Gazette. After the formal examination is complete, the applicant may request earlier publication (arts. 40 and 85).
Invention: 18 months · Utility model: 12 months · Or earlier, on request -
Requesting and paying for substantive examination
After publication, the office notifies the applicant to request substantive examination and pay the balance of the fee: S/ 324.00 for an invention patent or S/ 97.20 for a utility model. The request is filed with proof of payment within the time limit counted from publication. If it is not filed, the application is deemed abandoned (art. 44).
Invention: 6 months · Utility model: 3 months · If not requested: abandonment -
Substantive examination and decision
The file waits its turn for examination. The examiner issues a patentability report, which is notified to the applicant. If it is favorable, no response is needed. If it is adverse, the applicant must respond within the time limit counted from notification, which can be extended once on request (art. 45). The response must overcome every objection raised by the examiner.
The procedure ends with a decision that grants the patent in full, grants it in part or refuses it.
Response — Invention: 60 working days + 30 · Utility model: 30 + 15
How long does it take overall?
Invention patent
procedure, in our practice
depending on the office's workload
to complete the procedure
Utility model
is usually issued, in practice
taking today
under the TUPA
How time limits are counted. When Decision 486 sets a time limit in days, they are working days; when it sets one in months, it runs from date to date (art. 5). Time limits triggered by a notification or publication start running on the day after that notification or publication, unless otherwise provided (art. 4).
Once granted, an invention patent lasts 20 years (art. 50) and a utility model 10 years (art. 84), counted from the filing date. That is why prosecution time is not added to the protection: it runs within it.
When the procedure gets complicated
Everything above describes a trouble-free procedure. These are the special cases that call for a strategy of their own.
Third-party opposition
Within the 60 working days following publication, anyone with a legitimate interest may oppose the application (art. 42). The opposition must be answered with technical and legal arguments.
Adverse substantive examination
An adverse report is not the end of the procedure. With a well-built technical response, objections can be overcome: in our files, 12 of 12 rescues ended in grant. See patent rescue →
Unreasonable delays
If the office delays the procedure unreasonably, a patent term adjustment can be requested under articles 32 and 33 of Legislative Decree No. 1075.
Refusal or abandonment
A request for reconsideration or an appeal can be filed against the decision within 15 working days counted from the day after notification; once that period has passed, nothing more can be done. If the application was deemed abandoned, a divisional application may be considered so as not to lose everything. And once administrative remedies are exhausted, judicial review before the courts remains available.
Our fees
Without the overhead of a large law firm. Your application is drafted and handled directly by the specialist, from filing to decision. A fixed quote before we start: you know what you will pay before you sign anything.
Fees are quoted according to the complexity of the invention. Drafting claims for a biotechnology development is not the same as drafting them for a mechanical tool. Among our decided files, 96% of utility models (25 of 26) and 77.3% of invention patents (17 of 22) were granted.
Write to us with a short description of your product. We will tell you whether it calls for a patent, a utility model or a trademark, and send you a fixed quote with a breakdown of the fees. We sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) before you share the details of your invention.
Sources: Andean Community Decision 486, Common Industrial Property Regime; Consolidated Text of Law No. 27444, General Administrative Procedure Law; Legislative Decree No. 1075; INDECOPI's Single Text of Administrative Procedures (TUPA), approved by Supreme Decree No. 088-2025-PCM and its current amendments. Fees may change with later TUPA amendments: before paying, verify the amount at págalo.pe or in the current TUPA published by INDECOPI. Average durations come from our own practice before the office. This page is general information and does not constitute legal advice on any specific case.
Last verified: September 15, 2026.