Patent Maintenance

Patent Maintenance Fees are due at 3, 7 and 11 years after your patent issues. If you don’t pay your fees in a timely manner, your patent will be considered abandoned, and it will pass into the public domain. The maintenance fees increase progressively.  Currently, for small entities, they are $565, $1,425 and $2,365.

Keep in mind that you should have a better idea of whether or not the maintenance fees are worth paying when they come do.  If the patent isn’t earning it’s keep, you can cut it loose with no additional expenses.