USA

Renewals in the US

USPTO Patent Renewal Fees

US Patent Renewal Fee Schedule

Renewal Fees:

For Patent Years Large Entity Renewal Fee Small / Micro Entity Renewal Fee
4+ $1,600 $800 / $400
8+ $3,600 $1,800 / $900
12+ $7,400 $3,700 / $1850

Penalty Fees (for late payment):

Large Entity Penalty Fee Small Entity Penalty Fee Micro Entity Penalty Fee
$160 $80 $40

Fees are listed in US Dollars.

US Patent Renewal Rules

US patent renewal/maintenance fees are only due three times during their lifetime. They are also only payable after the patent has been granted.
The first fee is due three years and six months after grant, and its payment permits the patent to remain in force beyond the fourth anniversary of grant. The second fee is payable by seven years and six months after grant, and the third by eleven years and six months.
Fees can be paid up to six months before the deadline.
Penalty fees for late payment start immediately after the payment due date has passed, as detailed in the table below. The patent lapses after six months.
There are three classification of entity type for US Patents: Large, Small and Micro. Small Entities pay 50% of the Large Entity fees and Micro Entities just 25%. A Small Entity is an individual, business with less than 500 employees, or a not-for-profit organisation (such as a university). The entity must not have licensed the patent rights to a Large Entity and must not be under any contractual obligation to do so. A Micro Entity is a subset of Small Entities. To qualify as a Micro Entity, the patent applicant must also not be named on more than four previous applications and must not have an income of excess of three times the previous year’s median household income (i.e. approximately 3 x $50,000).

Maintaining US Patents

RenewalsDesk offers an easy to use, online service for managing your patents – from the US and other countries.

Check the dates of upcoming US patent renewals, get alerted and pay the patent maintenance fees US patents incur over their lifetimes.

How it works

Find and add your US patents,
instantly see fees and due dates

Receive renewal reminders/
proposals by email

Pay RenewalsDesk in your currency
by bank transfer or credit card

We make the payment to the US
Patent Office

Receive formal renewal
confirmation

Repeats for each renewal
until cancellation

Patent Renewal Fees

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