A patentee may pay a patent annuity within a grace period of late payment, i.e., 6 months in case the patentee didn’t pay the patent annuity within the normal due date.  If the annuity is not paid within the grace period, the patent right has been extinguished.  Until now, in order to restore an extinguished patent right, a patentee had to submit document(s) certifying that the extinguished patent right is being worked while paying an amount equivalent to three times the patent annuity within three months from the expiry of the grace period of late payment.

 

However, under the revised patent act dated June 11, 2014, a patentee doesn’t need to submit document(s) certifying that the extinguished patent right is being worked.  Further, the patent annuity to restore the extinguished patent right is reduced from an amount equivalent to three times the normal patent annuity to an amount equivalent to two times thereof.

 

This became effective on June 11, 2014.