EUROPE
July 30, 2015
The EPO has now answered this question with an announcement on 24 June 2015 that unitary patent renewal fees will be set using the so-called 'Top 4' fee schedule, which will be reviewed in four years' time.
It seems reasonable to expect that the fee schedule will increase ahead of inflation over the next decade as more countries joint the system. A detailed analysis of renewal costs needs to be made to evaluate the potential costs, depending on the number of countries interesting for the applicant, with the corresponding risks of using the unitary system.