Patent term, adjustment, extension and maintenance fees
This area tests how long a utility patent lasts and what lengthens or ends it: the 20-year term, patent term adjustment for Office delay, extension for regulatory review, and maintenance fees. Hold onto one idea: term runs from the earliest non-provisional U.S. or PCT filing relied on, adjustment is Office delay minus applicant delay, and unpaid maintenance fees end the patent at 4, 8 or 12 years.
Appeals, petitions, issue and post-issuance6 min read6 sections
A utility or plant patent runs from grant to 20 years after the U.S. filing date, or after the filing date of the earliest application to which it claims benefit under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c) or 386(c) (35 U.S.C. 154(a)(2)). Benefit of a provisional application and foreign priority are ignored (154(a)(3)), and a national stage patent counts from the international filing date, not national stage entry (MPEP 2701). A terminal disclaimer can cut the term short. A reissue never extends the term.
Adjustment compensates for Office delay in original utility and plant applications filed on or after May 29, 2000 (37 CFR 1.702(f)). It is stated on the patent; there is no estimate with the notice of allowance for patents granted since January 14, 2013 (MPEP 2733).
| Type | Delay counted |
|---|---|
| A delay | Day after 14 months from filing (or national stage commencement) to the first action or allowance; also 4-month guarantees after replies, appeal briefs, Board decisions and issue fee payment |
| B delay | Day after 3 years from filing to issue, less RCE time (filing to allowance), interference, secrecy and appellate review time |
| C delay | Interference or derivation, secrecy orders, and successful appellate review |
| Applicant delay | Days beyond 3 months to reply, and the 1.704(c) events such as late appeal briefs, papers after allowance and abandonment |
Every note. Every question. One pass.
4 more sections of this note are part of Premium.
From about US$14.92/mo on the Until-you-pass pass (12 months)
The three-month applicant clock in 37 CFR 1.704(b) ignores the shortened period set in the action and any paid extension: a reply at day 92 costs days even if timely, while a reply to a two-month restriction requirement at three months costs nothing. A three-month date falling on a weekend or holiday rolls to the next business day without loss (MPEP 2732). Reinstatement of 1.704(b) time on a due-care showing must be requested before the patent issues and is capped at three months per reply (37 CFR 1.705(c)).
Reconsideration of the PTA on the patent is requested within two months of grant, extendable under 1.136(a), and the Director's decision can then be challenged only by a civil action in the Eastern District of Virginia within 180 days (35 U.S.C. 154(b)(4); MPEP 2734).
