Annual fees begin four years from publication and are due on each anniversary thereafter.
When do annual fees for maintaining a patent application or patent start to accrue? Read More »
Failure to pay annual fees causes withdrawal or lapse, subject to a six?month grace period with surcharge.
What is the consequence of failure to pay annual fees, and is there any grace period? Read More »
A patent may be surrendered with consent of all recorded right?holders, subject to possible opposition.
May a patentee voluntarily surrender a patent, and what consents are required? Read More »
The Director may correct, without fee, patent mistakes caused by the Office to conform with its records.
How are mistakes of the IPO in an issued patent corrected? Read More »
Formal and clerical mistakes not caused by the Office may be corrected upon request and payment of a fee.
Patentees may limit or correct patents, but cannot add new disclosure and face limits on broadening.
Amendments are implemented by certificate attached to the patent and published in the IPO Gazette.
How are amendments or corrections to a patent formally implemented and publicized? Read More »
Patents may be cancelled for lack of novelty, insufficient disclosure, or being contrary to public order or morality.
On what grounds may any interested person seek cancellation of a patent or its claims? Read More »
If no examination request is filed within six months of publication, the application is deemed withdrawn.
Cancellation petitions must be written, verified, specify grounds and facts, and attach supporting documents with translations.
What formal requirements must a petition for cancellation of a patent satisfy? Read More »
