Q: Is Patent 8645011 still in force or has it lapsed due to non payment
The patent was designed by me, and owned by xxxx. I apparently sold xxx and yyyy when I had a stroke in September 2014. I have not been paid one dollar by the Law firm.
A:
It looks like the first maintenance fee has been paid by CPA (a company that specializes in paying maintenance fees) on 2 Mar 2017. So it looks like that the payment of fee is in order and the patent is likely enforceable.
The next fee is due by Aug 2021.
I note that CPA paid the full $1600 fee, meaning that the current owner or a licensee of the patent is a large entity (i.e., they have more than 500 full time employees). If that is your patent, you should check that this is correct, and that you are not overpaying for maintenance fees.
Kathryn Perales agrees with this answer
A:
If you feel you were not paid for a transaction – such as a breach of contract – consider asking the other party for information of the reason for nonpayment – or as mentioned the law firm. Also consider that there are statute of limitations for bringing an action for breach of contract – meaning you have to bring a claim within a certain period of time and after that you can’t pursue your claim. In some situations, there can be extensions – such as you were not aware of a breach – an example being you were sick and unaware. But, everything is fact dependent.
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