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Renewal Fee
Renewal Fee
A recurring fee that is payable to a patent office at various intervals in order to keep a patent or patent application active. It is sometimes also referred to as a maintenance fee (particularly in the US).
Generally, a renewal fee is only payable once a patent has been granted. However, there are some instances, notably for patent applications with the European Patent Office (EPO), where renewal fees are due for a pending patent application prior to grant.
In the UK, renewal fees are due for granted patents annually from the 4th anniversary of the filing date. The amounts of the official patent renewal fees for UK patents [↗] are available on the UK Intellectual Property Office's website. It should be noted that failure to pay a renewal fee will result in a potentially irreversible loss of rights.
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