Patent expires if maintenance fee is not paid timely manner. In this situation you can apply for the reinstatement of the expired patent by filing petition and required fee.
A petition to accept an unintentionally delayed payment of a maintenance fee must include the following:
- The required maintenance fee
- The petition fee
- A statement that the delay in payment of the maintenance fee was unintentional
- It must be signed
If the date of expiration is less than 24 months then petition can be filed using the Web-based ePetition in EFS-Web which is automatically processed and granted immediately upon submission if the petition meets all of the requirements. You will know instantly while filing whether all requirements have been met.
If the date of expiration is more than 24 months then you must file a petition by submitting the completed form SB/66 and paying the proper fees. In this situation there are significant processing delays.
Intellectual Property Logium provides services for filing patent reinstatement petition with USPTO and reinstating your patent.
