Legal analysis: For an application for a patent for invention, the patentee does not have to pay the annual fee for the current year after the expiration date of paying the maintenance fee. If the authorization date is before the due payment date, the maintenance fee of the current year will be changed to an annual fee, and the annual fee will be paid before the due date.
Legal basis: Article 43 of the Patent Law of People's Republic of China (PRC) stipulates that the patentee shall pay the annual fee from the year when the patent right is granted.