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Question:
If a maintenance fee is filed after the 6-month grace period, then what must a petition filed under the unintentional standard of 37 C.F.R. 1.378(b) include?
Answer:
If a maintenance fee is filed after the 6-month grace period, then a petition filed under the unintentional standard of 37 C.F.R. 1.378(b) must include …
- (A) the required maintenance fee;
- (B) the petition fee; and
- (C) a statement that the delay in payment of the maintenance fee was unintentional.
Chapter Details:
The answer to this question can be found in chapter 2500 of the MPEP. This chapter covers Maintenance Fees.
The answer is from the 9th Edition, Revision 01.2024, Published November 2024. Depending on future changes to the MPEP, the question and answer may or may not be applicable in later Editions or revisions.
Section Summary:
This question and answer comes from section 2590 of the MPEP. The following is a brief summary of section 2590.
2590 Acceptance of Delayed Payment of Maintenance Fee in Expired Patent to Reinstate Patent
This section describes what the patentee may do if the PTO refuses their maintenance fee because the patent has already expired. It includes a discussion on the requirements to petition an unintentional delay.