A patent is granted for period of 20 years in India and a patent renewal fee or annuity has to be paid every year after the end of second year till the term of patent for the possession of patent and to keep the patent in its effect. For the patents filed in India through PCT, the term of patent is calculated from the time of international filing of application but the renewal fees are applicable only after the grant of a patent in India.
If any company or individual fails to pay the fees, the patent may lapse and cease to exist and enters the domain of public property. Once the patent ceases to exist, the subject matter covered by the patent is no longer protected. The subject matter can be used by anyone without any repercussions of infringement. An application for restoration of patent can be made by the owner of the patent or the by the representatives of the patentee if the patent is in lapse stage.
The renewal fees for a granted patent can be filed within three months from the date of recording of the patent in the patent register, and if not payable within prescribed three months, an application for extension can be filed for making such payment by requesting extension of time along with the prescribed penalty fees (a. k. a Patent Renewal Late Fee). The maximum extendable time for making the renewal fees is for six months. However, if the renewal fees are not paid even within/till the maximum extendable time (i.e., 3 months + 6 months upon application for extensions = 9 months), the granted patent ceases to have effect.
According to Section 60 of The Patents Act, 1970, the patentee (legal owner of the patent) is give eighteen months from the date on which the patent ceases to have effect, to make an application for the restoration of the patent upon submissions of which the patent rights are restored (i.e., patent if legally enforceable again). A one-month extension can also be sought under rule 138 of Patent Rules, which is a discretionary power of the controller.
A petition for restoration of the patent has to be applied to the controller at Indian Patent Office (IPO), however, the patentee must provide a reason and sufficient evidence for the delay in payment of renewal fees. If the Controller is satisfied with the reason and the evidences provided that it was unintentional for reasonable failure for payment of renewal fees, the application and patent shall be published in official gazette in accordance with Rule 84(3) of the Act i.e., the patent rights are restored.
Exceptional Case
An interesting case happened in a year 2009 during which a Controller of Indian Patents issued a renewal of a patent no. 186320 owned by National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) a Government of India Enterprises. The patent ceased to have effect on 18/9/2006 but the application for renewal was filed in 2/2/2009 which was after the period of 29 months after the lapse of the patent. The controller, after reading the submissions by the patentee, found that the reasons for the delay were unintentional and by recording adequate reasons gave the decision for renewal of the patent.
Conclusion
Having said the above, the restoration of patents involves several decisions that are to be taken on the part of Controller after perusal of the documents submitted by the patentee. It is the duty of the patentee's to be aware of the deadlines and file for an extension and renewal once they come across the issue but an accidental delay can be can be considered in certain circumstances. Even though, the law provides the time limit for filing of extension, a controller can exercise his discretion for renewal if he confident that the reason for delay was inadvertent.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
