A patent can be maintained for 20 years. In order to keep your exclusive right you must pay a fee each year - an annual fee. This fee must be paid on the third year from the filing date. The annual fee must be paid even if your application is being processed and the patent has not yet been granted in order to avoid annulment of the application. If you fail to pay the annual fee by the due date, you have the possibility of paying the amount with a penalty charge within six months. If the increased fee is not paid within that time, the patent is annulled and you have lost your exclusive right.
The process
Step 1.
No later than three months before the expiry Intellectual Property Agency Ltd. will inform you that your annual maintenance fee is due. We enclose a form wish you can sign and return to us if you wish us to prolong the patent on your behalf. By signing and returning the enclosed form you automatically confirm, order and authorize Intellectual Property Agency Ltd. to extend your patent.
Step 2.
In order for us to successfully extend your patent a maintenance fee and an administrative fee must be paid. Within 5 - 10 working days after we have received your signed order confirmation / authorization / extenuation form you will receive an invoice. Once the invoice is paid in total we will proceed with your application. In order for us to complete the extension process without any additional charges the amount must be paid within the given period of time stated on the invoice.
Step 3.
Your patent is successfully extended for another year.
-If no payment is remitted within the given time, you can still maintain your patent for the period of six months from the due date stated on the form you have received from us. An additional charge of 50% of the total invoice value will be added. If payment is failed to be submitted within 6 months after due date your patent will cease to exist. ( note that bank transfer may take a few days, therefore Intellectual Property Agency Ltd. does not take any responsibility for payments made less than 30 days prior to the complete annulation date of the patent.
-If any additional will be required, Intellectual Property Agency Ltd. will contact you. In case of failure to submit additional required information with 10 working days can result incompletion or additional charges. In that case no refunds will be made.