Maintenance fee (patent)

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In most patent laws, maintenance fees or renewal fees need to be periodically paid during the term of a patent in order to maintain it into force. Some patent laws provide for the payment of maintenance fees for patent applications as well, i.e. before the grant of the patent. In countries where maintenance fees are to be paid annually, they are sometimes called annuities.

Contents 1 Italy 2 United States 3 Companies 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Italy

In an unprecedented move, on December 22, 2005, the Italian Parliament approved the cancellation of all maintenance fees due for European patents validated in Italy, and for Italian patents, utility models and designs, as from January 1, 2006.^[1][2][3] As of January 2006, it remained to be seen whether the decree would not be reversed after the general election of April 2006, i.e. in a couple of months from then.

[edit] United States

Patent maintenance fees in the United States are due 3½, 7½ and 11½ years after grant of the patent.

[edit] Companies

There are many companies specializing in the management and payment of patent maintenance fees. These companies propose to help patentees to keep track of the deadlines for paying the fees as well as to pay the correct amount to the correct bank account. For instance (in alphabetical order):

• Acumass
• Computer Patent Annuities (CPA)
• Computer Packages Inc. (CPi)
• Dennemeyer
• EPAS ^{[citation needed]}
• Master Data Center (MDC), a Thomson subsidiary
• Olcott International & Co.
• Patrafee AB
• PAVIS
• SGA²

Many other companies offer a service on a regional scale.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• European Patent Convention (EPC)
  • Article 39 EPC: Payments by the Contracting States in respect of renewal fees for European patents
  • Article 86 EPC: Renewal fees for European patent applications
  • Article 141 EPC: Renewal fees for European patents
  • Rule 37 EPC: Payment of renewal fees