Utility Patents Require Three Maintenance Payments

Under 35 U.S.C. Section 41(b), maintenance fees on an issued utility patent come due at 3.5, 7.5, and 11.5 years after the patent’s grant date. Missing any one of these three payments causes the patent to lapse, regardless of how much time remains on the original 20-year term measured from the filing date.

This staged payment structure differs considerably from foreign patent systems, which often require annual annuity payments that increase steadily throughout the patent’s life rather than three larger payments spread across specific milestones.

A Brooklyn patent lawyer tracks these maintenance deadlines carefully for clients, since the United States Patent and Trademark Office does not send out any reminders, leaving the entire responsibility for tracking these dates on the patent owner alone.

What Happens if a Payment Window Is Missed

Each maintenance fee opens for payment six months before its due date and closes at the due date itself, after which a six-month grace period follows automatically, though a surcharge applies during that grace period. If the fee still is not paid by the end of the grace period, the patent lapses and the invention enters the public domain, meaning anyone can freely make, use, or sell it.

Reinstating a lapsed patent is possible in limited circumstances if the delay was unintentional, but this process is neither quick nor guaranteed, which makes avoiding a lapse in the first place far more reliable than counting on reinstatement later. Payment cannot be made before the six-month window opens either, so patent owners cannot simply pay years ahead of schedule to avoid tracking each deadline separately.

How Much These Maintenance Fees Actually Cost

Maintenance fee amounts increase significantly at each stage, with the fee due at 11.5 years costing considerably more than the fee due at 3.5 years. Small businesses and individual inventors can qualify for reduced fees under small entity or micro entity status, cutting the cost by 40 percent or 80 percent respectively compared to the standard large entity rate.

Because the total cost across all three separate payments adds up to a meaningful sum over the life of a patent, budgeting for these fees well in advance helps avoid a situation where cost becomes the reason a valuable patent is allowed to lapse.

Whether These Fees Apply to Every Type of Patent

No. Maintenance fees apply only to utility patents, including reissue utility patents based on applications filed on or after December 12, 1980. Design patents and plant patents are completely exempt from maintenance fees and remain in force for their full term without any of these ongoing payments.

This distinction matters for inventors holding multiple types of intellectual property, since a portfolio that includes both utility and design patents will have very different tracking requirements depending on which type each patent actually is.

What to Track to Avoid a Missed Payment

Staying on top of maintenance fee deadlines requires organized tracking well before each due date arrives. Useful practices typically include:

• Recording the patent’s grant date and calculating all three deadlines in advance
• Setting reminders well before each payment window opens
• Confirming entity status, since incorrect status can affect the fee amount owed
• Keeping records of prior payments in case a dispute arises later
• Reviewing the full patent portfolio periodically for upcoming deadlines

How COFFYLAW Helps Clients Track These Deadlines

Missing a maintenance fee deadline can end a valuable patent years before its natural expiration. COFFYLAW helps clients track every upcoming maintenance deadline across their full patent portfolio, well before each payment window closes.

Your Next Step

Understanding the maintenance fee schedule can help you avoid losing a patent you have already invested significant time and money into obtaining. If you own a patent and want help tracking your maintenance obligations in the Brooklyn area, a Brooklyn patent lawyer can help you stay on schedule.