the several national patent offices for maintaining a granted European patent in a number of countries. This however depends on the number of countries in which the patent proprietor wants to maintain its European patent into force. For instance, whereas, as of April 2010, the renewal fee was 1420 euros for the 10th to 20th year at the EPO, the sum of national renewal fees exceeded respectively 7 000 euros and 20 000 euros for the 10th and 20th year. Italy In a widely criticised move the Italian Parliament approved the cancellation of all maintenance fees due for Italian patents (including European patents validated in Italy), utility models and designs, as from January 1, 2006. Although the fees were reintroduced on January 2, 2007, the actual amounts of the fees were not announced until April 6, 2007. Consequently, for any fees that fell due between January 2, 2007, and April 30, 2007, the time limit for paying these was extended to June 30, 2007. Some, including Roland Grossenbacher, then chairman of the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation, considered that the abolishment of annuity fees in Italy was an error, because, if annuities were abolished, "all patents would remain in force up to the 20th year." Russian Federation Patent maintenance fees are due in Russia every year starting with the third year after the application date. The maintenance fee increases from 1,700 roubles (22.43 US$) on the third year to 16,200 roubles ($213.73) on the twentieth year. Up to 5-fold discounts are available for individual inventors, small and non-profit businesses, and those, who are willing to license their patents under nominal cost and non-discriminatory terms. Russian law firms charge substantially larger "payment processing fees" than what Rospatent charges as patent maintenance fees. However, since June 23, 2022 most foreign patent owners have been unable to make patent maintenance payments in Russia, and their patents have expired. This is because Rospatent requires all payments to be processed via Central Bank of Russia, and this bank has been a subject of sanctions imposed by the USA and its allies. United Kingdom The United Kingdom does not require renewal fees to be paid in respect of pending applications but a granted patent must be renewed on the 4th anniversary of the filing date and every year after that. Historically, and in contrast to most other European countries and the European Patent Office,