Excuse me: I have repeatedly paid the annual patent fee. What should I do? Can I get a refund? Thank you.

If the patent fee is overpaid, re-paid or wrongly paid, the parties concerned may request a refund within three years from the date of payment.

The refund requester should be the payer of the money. If the applicant (or patentee) or patent agency requests a refund as a non-payer, it shall declare that it is entrusted by the payer to handle the refund procedures.

The refund request shall be made in writing, with reasons and corresponding certificates, such as a copy of the expense receipt issued by the Patent Office and a remittance voucher issued by the post office or bank. The certificate provided by the post office or bank shall be the original. If the original cannot be provided, a notarized copy confirmed by the official seal of the department shall be provided.

The refund request shall indicate the application number (or patent number) and the refund amount information (such as bill number, fee amount, etc.). ) and payee information. If a party requests a refund through the post office, the payee information includes the name, address and postal code; If the party requests a refund through the bank, the payee information includes name, bank, account number and other information.