Patent Renewal Fees, India

Indian Patent Renewal Rules

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Renewal Years

Renewal fees are only payable on an Indian patent once it has been granted. The first time renewal fees become due is the second anniversary of the patent’s filing date, at which point the fee for the third year is due. Generally, patents in India grant a number of years after this first fee date, and fees for this and subsequent renewals up to grant accrue and are payable at the time of grant. Your local agent who is handling the prosection of the application will generally handle these payments, and RenewalsDesk will take over from the following year.

Subsequent fees must be paid annually in advance of the year to which they relate.

Renewal Dates & Payment Windows

The renewal fee becomes due on the anniversary of the patent’s filing date and must be paid by that anniversary day. There is no provision for payment up to the end of the month.

Payments for future renewals can be made in advance.

Entity Types

There are three types of ‘entity’ that are considered distinct under Indian patent law. The addition of a ‘Small Entity’ was new in the 2014 Patent Rules. Previously existing categories are ‘Natural Persons’ and ‘All Others’.

A Natural Person is an individual. This category receives that largest discount on fees.

A Small Entity is a company that falls below the upper limit of certain criteria defining businesses in the Micro and SME Development Act 2006. In summary, to qualify, a service industry business must have invested less than INR 50,000,000 (approximately USD 82,000) in equipment, and a manufacturing business must have invested less than INR 100,000,000 Crore (approximately USD 1,636,000). Further details can be found here. If this status is accorded to a patent applicant or proprietor, a significant fee discount also applies, as detailed below.

The final category for fee purposes is a catch-all. All other companies pay standard fees.

Proof of entity status (along with official Form 28) must be submitted in order to claim any discounts.

Electronic Filing

Electronically filed payments and documentation are now expected to be the standard. As such, and to encourage further use of electronic systems, the Indian patent office have allowed an additional 10% to be added to their fees for any non-electronic transactions.
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