How to Renew a Patent

It is possible to renew a patent only in special situations.

Patents cannot be renewed after they expire unless they are approved for an extension by a special act of Congress. This does not happen very often, so it is most likely that the patent holder will have the rights to their patent for 14 or 20 years, which is the normal amount of time patents are granted. According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, or UPSTO, there is an exception for pharmaceutical companies if their patent was held up because of the approval process of the Food and Drug Administration, or FDA.

Things You'll Need

• Attorney who specializes in patent law
• Act of Congress

Instructions

Renew An Existing Patent

1. Determine that at least one of the following situations occurred, to begin the patent renewal process: The UPSTO took the full three-year time period to review the patent, the UPSTO held up your patent application process without having a good reason, or there were interference issues, which means that more than one person was trying to get the same patent at the same time.

2. Contact an attorney with expertise in the area of patents, if you find that one of the situations in Step 1 occurred during your patent process.

3. Find all documentation that you have regarding the delay in your patent process. If a patent attorney assisted you with the initial application process, he might have some of this information.

4. Prepare to wait, as it could take the UPSTO up to a year to review and decide on your request. If approved, the UPSTO will let you know how long your renewal will be in effect for.

Tips & Warnings

• Staying current with patent maintenance fees is a good way to make sure your patent does not expire before the 14 or 20 years for which it was granted for. Maintenance-fee schedules can be found on the UPSTO website (see Resources section).

• Patents are not often renewed, so most likely you will have your patent for the normal term limit, after which it will expire. Hiring patent attorneys and creating the renewal request is expensive and time-consuming, so it is important to understand what it entails.

References

• The United States Patent and Trademark Office: Answers to the most frequently asked kids' questions about patents, trademarks and copyrights and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
• Patent Office: Renew Patent

Resources

• United States Patent and Trademark Office