Santa Maria, CA asked in Patents (Intellectual Property) for California

Q: I own a patent that was issued in June of 2011. I did not keep up with maintenance fees. What is my status now in 2021?

2 Lawyer Answers
Bill Hulsey
PREMIUM
Bill Hulsey
Answered

A: You can pay the maintenance fee, but there will be gap in protection.

Sarita L. Pickett
Sarita L. Pickett
Answered
  • Patents Lawyer
  • Manchester, NH

A: As part of the effort to promote entrepreneurial enterprises by the USPTO, trademark registrations and patent grants are subject to periodic renewal, maintenance fees, and confirmation of use. As such, after registration, a trademark remains valid for an initial term of ten years, subject to filing a confirmation statement of use between the fifth and sixth anniversaries of the registration date as required by Section 8 of the Trademark Act. Similarly, a patent remains valid for an initial term of three years. Failure to maintain the registration/patent will result in early cancellation or 'abandonment' of your patent/trademark. It will be necessary to file a petition to the Director to accept an unintentionally delayed payment of a maintenance fee. This petition may be denied if the patent owner cannot meet each of the petition requirements.

In view of the significance of these requirements, and in order to assist clients with monitoring official communications from the USPTO, many firms do offer docketing services which often includes: authorizing a firm to act as your contact with the USPTO, assisting in filtering third party fraudulent solicitations, and providing you with reminders about important fee dates.

Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.

The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.

Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.