Understanding Patent Renewals
Under U.S. patent law, all utility patents issued on or after December 12, 1980, must undergo three renewals during the patent’s life. These renewals occur three-and-a-half, seven-and-a-half, and 11-and-a-half years after a patent’s grant date. A patent holder may not submit a renewal earlier than six months before the renewal date. Design and plant patents do not have renewal requirements.
The USPTO charges maintenance fees whenever a patent holder renews their utility patent. These fees increase annually based on the consumer price index. However, Congress has required discounted fees for patent holders who qualify as “small” and “micro” entities; these discounted fees reduce the financial burden on individuals and small businesses to maintain their patent rights. “Small entities” include individuals, small businesses, and non-profit organizations. Micro entities” include applicants who meet the gross income or “institution of higher education” criteria.
What Are Patent Renewal Fees?
Patent renewal fees allow utility patent holders to keep their patents in force once they reach various age thresholds set by Congress. Patents typically remain in force for 20 years; renewal fees allow patents to remain in force for the full duration authorized by law. Patent holders can decline to pay renewal fees and allow their patent rights to lapse if they no longer need those rights or if the cost of maintaining the patent outweighs the benefit of patent rights.
The limited patent duration ensures that the right to make and use inventions eventually reaches the public domain, which can help facilitate innovation by encouraging inventors to develop innovations further or invent new products or processes. Patent renewal fees ensure that patent holders wish to continue enforcing their patent rights; not paying the fee allows the invention to enter the public domain to fuel continued competition and development.
Importance of Patent Renewals
Although a patent holder might believe that their patent will last for 20 years, in reality, patents can last for 20 years. Patent law requires utility patent holders to renew their patent rights at regular intervals during the 20-year life of their patent. Failing to renew a utility patent will result in the lapse of patent rights. Furthermore, a patent holder who misses the renewal deadline but eventually decides to renew their patent rights will face higher costs to maintain those rights, as the USPTO imposes surcharges for late renewal requests or to reinstate a patent that has lapsed due to non-renewal.
Why Renewing Your Patent Matters
Patents give holders the right to exclude other parties from making or commercializing the patented product or process. Therefore, a patent affords a competitive advantage in the marketplace, rewarding an inventor for creating a novel product or process by giving them the exclusive right to make or sell it or to license others to do so. Not renewing a utility patent means losing this exclusive right, which may mean that an inventor sees less of a return on their investment in developing an invention.
Patent Renewal Process
The patent renewal process may involve several steps, depending on whether a patent holder files their renewal request on time. When filing on time, a patent holder can simply pay the maintenance fee online on the Patent Maintenance Fee Storefront, submit payment through a wire transfer, or send a facsimile or mail with a credit card payment authorization, check, or money order.
Within six months after the expiration of the renewal date, a patent holder can renew their patent as of right via the same process, plus an additional late renewal surcharge.
After six months from the renewal date, a patent holder must submit a petition to revive the lapsed patent. A revival petition must include the renewal/maintenance fee, the applicable surcharge, and a statement explaining why the delay in submitting the renewal fee did not result from an intentional error.
When Are Renewal Fees Due?
Current patent law requires renewal fees for utility patents on three anniversaries of the patent’s grant date: three and a half years, seven and a half years, and eleven and a half years. Patent holders may submit their renewal fees as early as six months before the renewal date.
How Much Do Renewal Fees Cost?
As of 2025, patent renewal fees charged by the USPTO for utility patents include:
- For maintenance of an original or reissue patent three-and-half years after the grant date: $2,150
- For maintenance of an original or reissue patent seven-and-half years after the grant date: $4,040
- For maintenance of an original or reissue patent 11-and-half years after the grant date: $8,280
Discounted fees for small entities include:
- Three-and-a-half-year renewal: $860
- Seven-and-a-half-year renewal: $1,616
- Eleven-and-a-half-year renewal: $3,312
Discounted fees for micro entities include:
- Three-and-a-half-year renewal: $430
- Seven-and-a-half-year renewal: $808
- Eleven-and-a-half-year renewal: $1,656
The USPTO also imposes surcharges for late payments. Patent holders may renew their utility patents as of right within six months after the renewal date if they pay surcharges of $540 for regular fees, $216 for small entities, and $108 for micro entities.
After six months, patent holders can petition to revive and maintain their patents. Surcharges for such petitions include:
- Delay of two years or less: $2,260 regular fee, $904 for small entities, $452 for micro entities
- Delay of more than two years: $3,000 regular fee, $1,200 for small entities, $600 for micro entities
Consequences of Missing Renewal Deadlines
The USPTO allows patent holders who miss the six-month window before the three-and-a-half-year, seven-and-a-half-year, and 11-and-a-half-year renewal dates to keep or revive their patent rights. For six months after the renewal date, patent holders can renew their patent as of right by paying the applicable surcharge fee. However, patents not renewed in the six months following the renewal date lapse.
After a patent lapses, the patent holder must petition the USPTO to revive the patent; a petition to revive and maintain a patent requires a more substantial surcharge than the six-month late fee for renewals. A petition to revive a lapsed patent must include:
- The required maintenance fee
- The required petition surcharge
- A statement explaining how the delay in payment of the maintenance fee resulted from an unintentional error
Petitions filed online will receive automatic acceptance if they meet all requirements. Petitions filed by paper (e.g., facsimile, mail) will experience a processing delay, and the filing does not guarantee a granted petition.
Strategies for Managing Patent Renewals
Patent holders have several options for managing the renewal deadlines for their patents. Choosing the right management strategy may prove crucial for parties with numerous patents, as an oversight can lead to the loss of critical patent rights. Options for managing patent renewals include:
Personal Management
Patent holders—including individuals, small businesses, institutions of higher education, and large corporations—may choose to handle patent renewal management themselves to save on costs by avoiding paying fees to outside professional firms. However, unless an individual or organization has employees or an automated system dedicated to managing its patent portfolio, personal management of patent renewals may allow some patents to slip through the cracks and lapse due to non-renewal, especially when a patent holder has a substantial portfolio.
Utilizing Law Firms
Many patent holders retain law firms that focus on patent and intellectual property law to assist with managing patent renewals. Patent attorneys can determine when each patent holder’s patents will come up for renewal to help avoid extra expenses due to surcharges from late filings or petitions to reinstate lapsed patents. Law firms can also advise patent holders on their rights and options if they’ve missed renewal deadlines, including their eligibility for petitioning to reinstate a lapsed patent.
Law firms also assist with other aspects of patent management, including licensing, enforcement, and challenges to patent validity. Lawyers and firms can represent patent holders during license or settlement negotiations, in proceedings before the USPTO, or in court.
Engaging Patent Renewal Service Providers
Numerous non-law firm patent renewal companies provide services to assist patent holders with managing their renewal needs. However, because these service providers usually do not employ attorneys, they cannot provide legal advice to clients. Furthermore, some patent renewal service providers charge service costs far exceeding reasonable service fees.
Understanding Service Charges
Service charges refer to the fees charged by professional firms that handle patent renewals on behalf of patent holders, such as patent attorneys, patent agents, law firms, and non-law firm patent management companies. Patent holders who engage a service provider to assist with patent renewals should understand what charges a provider charges to ensure that service fees provide a reasonable value to the patent holder.
Breakdown of Service Fees
A patent holder may incur various service fees when seeking professional assistance to file a patent renewal. Potential fees may include:
- Hourly fees or flat fees charged for preparing and filing the patent renewal paperwork
- Legal or consulting fees to explain the renewal process and the suitability of proceeding with a patent renewal
- Monitoring patents and advising clients of impending deadlines
- Preparing and filing petitions to revive lapsed patents after missing renewal deadlines
- Advancing the renewal fee and any applicable service charges to the service provider to include with the renewal application or revival petition
Methods of Paying Renewal Fees
Patent holders or their designees can pay patent renewal fees to the USPTO through several methods.
Payment Options
Options for paying renewal fees include:
- Online: The USPTO encourages parties to pay patent renewal fees online through the Patent Maintenance Fees Storefront. The USPTO’s website can accept payments with credit/debit cards, a USPTO deposit account, or EFT.
- Wire transfer: The USPTO provides instructions for sending patent renewal fees via wire payment.
- Facsimile: A patent holder can pay a renewal fee by completing and faxing a Maintenance Fee Transmittal form and a Credit Card Payment Form (if paying by credit card).
- Mail: Patent holders can also submit a Maintenance Fee Transmittal form and a Credit Card Payment Form (if paying by credit viad) via USPS first-class mail or a delivery/courier service. The USPTO also accepts payments by check or money order via mail or delivery.
How Gearhart Law Can Help
A patent attorney can walk you through the patent review process and help you evaluate the benefits of maintaining your patent rights by:
- Monitoring the patent renewal dates across your patent portfolio and alerting you when renewal periods open
- Providing tailored legal advice as you evaluate the benefits of renewing your patent
- Explaining your legal options if the renewal period for your patent has expired
- Preparing and filing your renewal paperwork, including reinstatement petitions if your patent lapsed due to non-renewal
- Representing you before the USPTO should formal proceedings become necessary during your renewal process
Don’t let your patent rights expire. A patent attorney from Gearhart Law can walk you through the patent renewal process and help you understand the benefits of maintaining your utility patent. Contact our firm today for a consultation with a knowledgeable patent lawyer to learn more about patent renewals and gain assistance with protecting your patent rights.