Pay Your U.S. Patent Office Maintenance Fee

Maintenance Fees

In order to keep a U.S. patent valid, periodic fees known as maintenance fees must be paid to the U.S. Patent office. Through the life of the patent three maintenance fees must be paid at 3 years, 7 years and 11 years. The amount of these fees vary based on two things, the age of the patent and the legal status of the entity that currently owns the patent. When you applied for your patent you did so as one of three entity status: Micro, Small or Large. The legal requisites to determine your status are set forth below.  This status may have changed since you received your patent. It is extreemly important to get this correct when paying maintenance fees. Failure to do will result is loss of your patent or large recovery fees. You are responsible for getting this correctly identified.

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    Micro Entity

    Gross Income Basis

    To qualify for micro entity status on the gross income basis in a particular patent application, you must certify the following:

    • You as an individual are a sole or one of joint inventors and the inventors own the patent
    • The patent applicant is different from the inventor(s) and is a person or a business and the business and its affiliates have less than 500 employees
    • Neither I, nor a joint inventor nor the applicant  had a gross income in the previous year from when the fee(s) is paid of more than USD $241,830.00
    • Neither you nor a joint inventor has assigned, granted, or conveyed, nor is under an obligation to assign, grant, or convey, a license or other ownership interest to another entity that does not meet the same “Maximum Qualifying Gross Income” limit.

    Institution of Higher Education Basis

    To qualify for micro entity status in a patent application on the institution of higher education basis (the only alternative to the gross income basis), an applicant must either:

    (A) obtain the majority of their income from a United States institution of higher education as defined in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)); or

    (B)  have assigned, granted, or conveyed, or be under an obligation by contract or law to assign, grant, or convey an ownership interest in the application to such a United States institution of higher education.

    For More info: USPTO site (https://www.uspto.gov/patents/laws/micro-entitystatus)

    Small Entity

    (1) Person. A person, as used in paragraph (c) (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-37/section-1.27#p-1.27(c))of this section, means any inventor or other individual (e.g., an individual to whom an inventor has transferred some rights in the invention) who has not assigned, granted, conveyed, or licensed, and is under no obligation under contract or law to assign, grant, convey, or license, any rights in the invention. An inventor or other individual who has transferred some rights in the invention to one or more parties, or is under an obligation to transfer some rights in the invention to one or more parties, can also qualify for small entity status if all the parties who have had rights in the invention transferred to them also qualify for small entity status either as a person, small business concern, or nonprofit organization under this section.

    (2) Small business concern. A small business concern, as used in paragraph (c) (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-37/section-1.27#p-1.27(c))of this section, means any business concern that:

    (i) Has not assigned, granted, conveyed, or licensed, and is under no obligation under contract or law to assign, grant, convey, or license, any rights in the invention to any person, concern, or organization which would not qualify for small entity status as a person, small business concern, or nonprofit organization; and

    (ii) Meets the size standards set forth in 13 CFR 121.801 (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-13/section-121.801) through 121.805 (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-13/section-121.805) to be eligible for reduced patent fees. Questions related to standards for a small business concern may be directed to: Small Business Administration, Size Standards Staff, 409 Third Street, SW., Washington, DC 20416.

    (3) Nonprofit Organization. A nonprofit organization, as used in paragraph (c) (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-37/section-1.27#p-1.27(c)) of this section, means any nonprofit organization that:

    (i) Has not assigned, granted, conveyed, or licensed, and is under no obligation under contract or law to assign, grant, convey, or license, any rights in the invention to any person, concern, or organization which would not qualify as a person, small business concern, or a nonprofit organization; and

    (ii) Is either:

    (A) A university or other institution of higher education located in any country;

    (B) An organization of the type described in section 501(c)(3)( https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/26/501))of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3)) and exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. 501(a)) (https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/26/501));

    (C) Any nonprofit scientific or educational organization qualified under a nonprofit organization statute of a state of this country (35 U.S.C. 201(i)) (https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/35/201)); or

    (D) Any nonprofit organization located in a foreign country which would qualify as a nonprofit organization under paragraphs (a)(3)(ii)(B) (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-37/section-1.27#p-1.27(a)(3)(ii)(B))of this section or (a)(3)(ii)(C) of this section if it were located in this country.

    (4) Federal Government Use License Exceptions. In a patent application filed, prosecuted, and if patented, maintained at no expense to the Government, with the exception of any expense taken to deliver the application and fees to the Office on behalf of the applicant:

    (i) For persons under paragraph (a)(1) (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-37/
    section-1.27#p-1.27(a)(1)) of this section, claiming small entity status is not prohibited by:

    (A) A use license to the Government resulting from a rights determination under Executive Order 10096 made in accordance with § 501.6 of this title (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-37/section-501.6);

    (B) A use license to the Government resulting from Federal agency action pursuant to 15 U.S.C. 3710d(a) (https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/15/3710d) allowing the Federal employee-inventor to obtain or retain title to the invention; or

    (C) A use license to a Federal agency resulting from retention of rights under 35 U.S.C. 202(d) (https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/35/202) by an inventor employed by a small business concern or nonprofit organization contractor, provided the license is equivalent to the license under 35 U.S.C. 202(c)(4) (https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/35/202) the Federal agency would have received had the contractor elected to retain title, and all the conditions applicable under § 401.9 of this title (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/
    title-37/section-401.9) to an employee/inventor are met.

    (ii) For small business concerns and nonprofit organizations under paragraphs (a)(2) (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-37/section-1.27#p-1.27(a)(2)) and (3) (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-37/
    section-1.27#p-1.27(a)(3)) of this section, a use license to a Federal agency resulting from a funding agreement with that agency pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 202(c)(4) (https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/35/202) does not preclude claiming small entity status, provided that:

    (A) The subject invention was made solely by employees of the small business concern or nonprofit organization; or

    (B) In the case of a Federal employee co-inventor, the Federal agency employing such co-inventor took action pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 202(e)(1) (https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/35/202) to exclusively license or assign whatever rights currently held or that it may acquire in the subject invention to the small business concern or nonprofit organization, subject to the license under 35 U.S.C. 202(c)(4) (https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/35/202).

    (iii) For small business concerns and nonprofit organizations under paragraphs (a)(2) (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-37/section-1.27#p-1.27(a)(2))and (3) (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-37/section-1.27#p-1.27(a)(3)) of this section that have collaborated with a Federal agency laboratory pursuant to a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) under 15 U.S.C. 3710a(a)(1), (https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/15/3710a), claiming small entity status is not prohibited by a use license to the Government pursuant to:

    (A) 15 U.S.C. 3710a(b)(2) (https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/15/3710a),that results from retaining title to an invention made solely by the employee of the small business concern or nonprofit organization; or

    (B) 15 U.S.C. 3710a(b)(3)(D), (https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/15/3710a), provided the laboratory has waived in whole any right of ownership the Government may have to the subject invention made by the small business concern or nonprofit organization, or has exclusively licensed whatever ownership rights the Government may acquire in the subject invention to the small business concern or nonprofit organization.

    (iv) Regardless of whether an exception under this paragraph (a)(4) (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-37/section-1.27#p-1.27(a)(4)) applies, no refund under § 1.28(a) (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-37/section-1.28#p-1.28(a)) is available for any patent fee paid by the Government.

    (5) Security Interest. A security interest does not involve an obligation to transfer rights in the invention for the purposes of paragraphs (a)(1) (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-37/section-1.27#p-1.27(a)(1)) through (a)(3) of this section unless the security interest is defaulted upon.

    Large Entity

    Pretty much any company that does not qualify as a micro or small entity.