United States Patent and Trademark Office OG Notices: 31 December 2002
Notice of Maintenance Fees Payable
Title 37 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Section 1.362(d) provides
that maintenance fees may be paid without surcharge for the six-month
period beginning 3, 7, and 11 years after the date of issue of patents
based on applications filed on or after Dec. 12, 1980. An additional
six-month grace period is provided by 35 U.S.C. 41(b) and 37 CFR 1.362(e)
for payment of the maintenance fee with the surcharge set forth in 37 CFR
1.20(h), as amended effective Dec. 16, 1991. If the maintenance fee is
not paid in the patent requiring such payment the patent will expire on
the 4th, 8th, or 12th anniversary of the grant.
Attention is drawn to the patents which were issued on December 21, 1999
for which maintenance fees due at 3 years and six months may now be paid.
The patents have patent numbers within the following ranges:
Utility Patents 6,003,155 through 6,004,354
Reissue Patents base on the above identified patents.
Attention is drawn to the patents which were issued on December 19, 1995
for which maintenance fees due at 7 years and six months may now be paid.
The patents have patent numbers within the following ranges:
Utility Patents 5,475,878 through 5,477,557
Reissue Patents based on the above identified patents.
Attention is drawn to the patents which were issued on December 17, 1991
for which maintenance fees due at 11 years and six months may now be paid.
The patents have patent numbers within the following ranges:
Utility Patents 5,072,453 through 5,073,983
Reissue Patents based on the above identified patents.
No maintenance fees are required for design or plant patents.
Payments of maintenance fees in patents may be submitted electronically
over the Internet at www.uspto.gov.
Payments of maintenance fees in patents not submitted electronically
over the Internet should be mailed to "United States Patent and Trademark
Office, P.O. Box 371611, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-1611".
Correspondence related to maintenance fees other than payments of
maintenance fees in patents is not to be mailed to P.O. Box 371611,
Pittsburgh, PA 15250-1611, but must be mailed to "Box M Correspondence,
"Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks, Washington, DC 20231".
Patent owners must establish small entity status according to 37 CFR
1.27 if they have not done so and if they wish to pay the small entity
amount.
The current amounts of the maintenance fees due at 3 years and six
months, 7 years and six months, and 11 years and six months are set
forth in 37 CFR 1.20(e)-(g), as amended Oct. 1, 2001, which are
reproduced below:
37 CFR 1.20 Post-issuance fees
(e) For maintaining an original or reissue patent, except a design or
plant patent, based on an application filed on or after after Dec.
12, 1980, in force beyond 4 years; the fee is due by three years and
six months after the original grant:
By a small entity ( 1.27(a)) $440.00
By other than a small entity $880.00
(f) For maintaining an original or reissue patent, except a design or
plant patent, based on an application filed on or after Dec. 12, 1980
in force beyond 8 years; the fee is due by seven years and six months
after the original grant:
By a small entity ( 1.27(a)) $1,010.00
By other than a small entity $2,020.00
(g) For maintaining an original or reissue patent, except a design or
plant patent, based on applications filed on or after Dec. 12, 1980
in force beyond 12 years; the fee is due by eleven years and six
months after the original grant:
By a small entity ( 1.27(a)) $1,550.00
By other than a small entity $3,100.00
The amount of the surcharge for paying the maintenance fee during the
grace period or after expiration of the patent are set forth in 37
CFR 1.20(h), and (i) which are reproduced below:
(h) Surcharge for paying a maintenance fee during the 6 month grace
period following the expiration of three years and six months, seven
years and six months, and eleven years and six months after the date
of the original grant of a patent based on an application filed on or
after Dec. 12, 1980:
By a small entity ( 1.27(a)) $65.00
By other than a small entity $130.00
(i) Surcharge for accepting a maintenance fee after expiration of a
patent for non-timely payment of a maintenance fee where the delay
is shown to the satisfaction of the Commissioner to have been:
(1) unavoidable $700.00
(2) unintentional $1,640.00