The annual calculation method for paying the annual patent fee is the same as the invention patent maintenance fee. The first day of various deadlines stipulated in Article 6 of the Detailed Rules for the Implementation of the Patent Law of China shall not be counted in the deadline. If the term is calculated in years or months, the expiration date shall be the corresponding day of the last month; If there is no corresponding day in the month, the last day of the month shall be the due date. Therefore, the annual fee is paid from the date of patent application to the same day of the following year, and one year is called one year. From the date of application, the current year is the first year and the following year is the first year. The annual fee shall be paid within one month before the due date.
The annual fee shall be paid to the Chinese Patent Office in the year when the patent right is granted. The annual fee for the year of authorization is as follows: the publication date plus 3 months on the authorization announcement issued by China Patent Office is the authorization date. For an application for a patent for invention, if the authorization date is later than the due date for paying the maintenance fee, the patentee is not required to pay the annual fee for that year. If the authorization date is before the payment due date, if the maintenance fee is not paid, the annual fee will be paid directly; If the maintenance fee has been paid, the difference between the annual fee and the maintenance fee of the current year shall be paid.
The application for patent for utility model and design is also based on the date of authorization announcement issued by China Patent Office plus 3 months as the authorization date. In which year is the sunset authorized and the annual fee paid; The applicant shall pay the patent certificate fee and annual fee as required after receiving the authorization notice. (The announcement date of utility model and design is the authorization date)
Those who fail to pay the annual fee within the prescribed time limit will be overdue for 6 months. If the annual fee is overdue, an additional 25% annual fee will be charged as a late fee. If the annual fee is not paid within the time limit, the China Patent Office will issue a notice to the patentee, which will be regarded as giving up the patent right and published in the patent gazette. The patentee cannot request the restoration of the patent right.