Who will pay the annual patent fee after patent transfer?

After the patent is transferred, the annual patent fee shall be paid by the agreed payer. If the transferor and the transferee fail to reach an agreement on matters related to the payment of the annual fee or the agreement is unclear, it shall generally be regarded as paid by the transferee. Because the assignee becomes the patentee based on the assignment contract, the patentee is obliged to pay the annual patent fee.

legal ground

Article 43 of the Patent Law of People's Republic of China (PRC) shall come into force on June 1 20265438.

The patentee shall pay the annual fee from the year when the patent right is granted.

Article 81

To apply for a patent and go through other formalities with the patent administration department of the State Council, the fees shall be paid in accordance with the provisions.

Article 98 of the Detailed Rules for the Implementation of the Patent Law of People's Republic of China (PRC)

The annual fee after the year in which the patent right is granted shall be paid before the expiration of the previous year. If the patentee fails to pay or fails to pay in full, the patent administration department of the State Council shall notify the patentee to pay the annual fee within 6 months from the date of expiration, and pay the late fee at the same time; 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.