The payment time for patent annual fees is calculated from the date of patent application. The annual fees for the year of patent authorization should be paid within the period specified in the notice of grant of patent rights issued by the Patent Office. The fee should be paid in advance within one month before the expiration of the previous year. If the fee is not paid within one month before the expiration, the Patent Office will also grant a one-month grace period. If the fee is not paid within one month after the expiration, , then there will be late payment fees for patent annual fees.
There is no need to pay a late payment fee if the patent annual fee is overdue for one month. A late payment fee of 5% for the full annual fee will be incurred from the second month after the expiration. At the same time, the Patent Office will also issue a payment notice. Monthly increments until the sixth month after expiration incur a late fee of $25 on the full annual fee. Note: As long as the patent standard annual fee and annual fee late payment fees are paid within six months after the patent annual fee expires, the patent will remain valid and will not cause any problems. All three types of patents can enjoy the annual fee reduction policy within 10 years from the year when the patent right is granted.
However, if the annual patent fee expires for more than six months, a patent right restoration fee will be incurred. The current patent right restoration fee is RMB 1,000. A patent termination notice will be issued about 7 months after the expiration date. , at this time many people thought that the patent rights would really be terminated at this point, but in fact it was not the case and could still be saved. Note: According to the provisions of Article 6, Paragraph 2 of the Implementing Rules of the Patent Law, you may also request restoration of rights to the Patent Administration Department of the State Council within 2 and a half months from the date of receipt of the notice from the Patent Administration Department of the State Council (notice of termination of patent rights). . At this time, as long as the patent standard annual fee, annual fee late payment fee and rights restoration request fee are paid within 2 and a half months after receiving the patent termination notice, the patent right can be restored.
Finally, if the above fees have not been paid within 2 and a half months after receiving the notice of patent termination, then the patent right has been terminated due to failure to pay the annual fee, and It is irreversible and has completely become a "public patent".