At present, the average examination and closing period of invention patents in China is 22 months, 9 months for utility model and 6 months for design.
According to Article 95 of the Detailed Rules for the Implementation of the Patent Law, the applicant shall pay the patent registration fee, the printing fee for the announcement and the annual fee for the year when the patent right is granted. The applicant for a patent for invention shall pay the application maintenance fee every year, excluding the year when the patent right is granted. If the payment is not made at the expiration of the period, it shall be deemed that the registration formalities have not been completed. Future annual fees shall be paid in advance within 1 month before the expiration of the previous year.
As far as the landlord is concerned, the patent should have expired. The annual fee and the validity of the patent right are combined into one, just like the prepaid service. Pay the annual fee first, and then the patent right can last for one year.
The annual fee for the second year was paid on August 4, 2006, and the patent can be maintained before 2006- 1 1-22. The landlord must pay the annual fee for the third year-1 1-2 1 before 2006, so that the patent can be maintained until 2007-1-22.
Since then, the landlord has not paid any fees.
According to Article 96 of the Detailed Rules for the Implementation of the Patent Law, if the patentee fails to pay the annual fee or the amount paid is insufficient after the year when the patent right was granted, the patent administration department of the State Council shall notify the patentee to pay the annual fee within 6 months from the date when the annual fee should be paid, and at the same time pay the late fee; The amount of the late payment fee is calculated by adding 5% of the full annual fee of the current year for every 1 month that exceeds the prescribed payment time; If it is not paid at the expiration of the time limit, the patent right shall be terminated from the date when the annual fee should be paid.
The deadline for overdue payment is before May 22, 2007. Usually, there are still two months to pay all the above fees and rights restoration fees 1000, and the patent will remain valid until 2007- 1 1-22.
For details, the landlord can consult China National Intellectual Property Administration Customer Service Center and report the patent number. The telephone number is 0 10-62356655.