Scott D. Locke, partner and chair of Dorf & Nelson’s Intellectual Property Department, IDEA: The Law Review of the Franklin Pierce Center for Intellectual Property, “Is It Time to Replace the U.S. Patent Maintenance Fee System with Annuities?”

Under the current U.S. patent system, an owner of a utility patent must pay maintenance fees at three intervals if the patent is to remain in force for its maximum term. The requirement of the payment of fees to keep a patent in force is not unique to the U.S., but unlike in most other jurisdictions, where fees are due annually, in the U.S. they are due 3 ½, 7 ½, and 11 ½ years after the patent issues. The schedule for the payment of US maintenance fees is inefficient for both patent holders and the public, and it is a holdover from an era when patents expired 17 years after issuance as opposed to the current system in which they expire 20 years from their non-provisional priority date. In view of the problems associated with the current framework for paying maintenance fees, in Scott’s most recent article, he asks: “Is It Time to Replace the U.S. Patent Maintenance Fee System with Annuities?”, 63 IDEA 466 (2023)

To access the full article click the link:
IS IT TIME TO REPLACE THE U.S. PATENT MAINTENANCE FEE SYSTEM WITH ANNUITIES?

Under the current U.S. patent system, an owner of a utility patent must pay maintenance fees at three intervals if the patent is to remain in force for its maximum term. The requirement of the payment of fees to keep a patent in force is not unique to the U.S., but unlike in most other jurisdictions, where fees are due annually, in the U.S. they are due 3 ½, 7 ½, and 11 ½ years after the patent issues. The schedule for the payment of US maintenance fees is inefficient for both patent holders and the public, and it is a holdover from an era when patents expired 17 years after issuance as opposed to the current system in which they expire 20 years from their non-provisional priority date. In view of the problems associated with the current framework for paying maintenance fees, in Scott’s most recent article, he asks: “Is It Time to Replace the U.S. Patent Maintenance Fee System with Annuities?”, 63 IDEA 466 (2023)

To access the full article click the link:
IS IT TIME TO REPLACE THE U.S. PATENT MAINTENANCE FEE SYSTEM WITH ANNUITIES?