Explanation: This article is about the termination of the patent right before the expiration of the time limit. This article provides two situations in which the patent right terminates before the expiration of the time limit:
1. If the patentee fails to pay the annual fee in accordance with the provisions of this Law, it shall pay the annual fee on schedule. This is the obligation of the patentee and the necessary condition to maintain the effectiveness of his patent right. If the patentee wants to keep the validity of his patent right before the expiration of the protection period, he must pay the annual fee on schedule. Otherwise, according to the principle of reciprocity of rights and obligations, if it fails to fulfill its obligation to pay the annual fee on time, it will be unable to continue to safeguard its right to patent protection. Considering that the patentee's failure to pay the annual fee on schedule may be caused by his mistake or some special reasons, in order to treat the patentee's rights carefully, the detailed rules for the implementation of the Patent Law stipulate a remedy, that is, if the patentee fails to pay the annual fee (excluding the annual fee of the year when the patent right was granted) or the amount paid is insufficient, the patent administration department shall notify the patentee to pay it within six months from the date of expiration of the annual fee, and at the same time pay a late fee of 25% of the annual fee; If it is not paid at the expiration of the time limit, its patent right shall be terminated and registered and announced by the patent administration department.
2. The patentee declares in writing that giving up his patent right is a civil right, and the patentee has the right to obtain this civil right according to law, and also has the right to dispose of it, including giving up this civil right. In general, the patentee should try his best to safeguard the patent right, but in some cases, for example, due to scientific and technological progress and rapid upgrading, the patent he owns has lost its practical value, or the income from patent implementation is not cost-effective compared with the annual fee that increases year by year. If the patentee gives up his patent right in writing before the expiration of the patent term, the patent right shall be terminated and registered and announced by the patent administration department of the State Council. But in fact, if the patentee enters into a patent licensing contract with others to license others to exploit their patents, if the patentee abandons his patent right within the validity period of the contract, he shall obtain the consent of the licensee, otherwise it will harm the interests of the licensee.