MPEP § 2501 — MPEP § 2501
Current through: 2022-07-01

2501-Introduction 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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 Chapter 2500 

 Section 2501 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 2501 Introduction [R-07.2022]

 
 35 U.S.C. 41 
 Patent fees; patent and trademark search systems. 

 *****

 
 (b) MAINTENANCE FEES
 
 (1) IN GENERAL. — The Director shall
 charge the following fees for maintaining in force all patents based
 on applications filed on or after December 12, 1980:
 
 (A) Three years and 6 months after grant,
 $980.
 

 (B) Seven years and 6 months after grant,
 $2,480.
 

 (C) Eleven years and 6 months after grant,
 $4,110.
 

 
 

 (2) GRACE PERIOD; SURCHARGE. — Unless
 payment of the applicable maintenance fee under paragraph (1) is
 received in the Office on or before the date the fee is due or
 within a grace period of 6 months thereafter, the patent shall
 expire as of the end of such grace period. The Director may require
 the payment of a surcharge as a condition of accepting within such
 6-month grace period the payment of an applicable maintenance fee.
 
 

 (3) NO MAINTENANCE FEE FOR DESIGN OR PLANT
 PATENT. — No fee may be established for maintaining a design or
 plant patent in force.
 

 
 

 (c) DELAYS IN PAYMENT OF MAINTENANCE FEES. —
 
 (1) ACCEPTANCE. — The Director may accept the payment
 of any maintenance fee required by subsection (b) after the 6-month
 grace period if the delay is shown to the satisfaction of the
 Director to have been unintentional. The Director may require the
 payment of the fee specified in subsection (a)(7) as a condition of
 accepting payment of any maintenance fee after the 6-month grace
 period. If the Director accepts payment of a maintenance fee after
 the 6-month grace period, the patent shall be considered as not
 having expired at the end of the grace period. 
 

 (2) EFFECT ON RIGHTS OF OTHERS.— A patent, the term of
 which has been maintained as a result of the acceptance of a payment
 of a maintenance fee under this subsection, shall not abridge or
 affect the right of any person or that person’s successors in
 business who made, purchased, offered to sell, or used anything
 protected by the patent within the United States, or imported
 anything protected by the patent into the United States after the
 6-month grace period but prior to the acceptance of a maintenance
 fee under this subsection, to continue the use of, to offer for
 sale, or to sell to others to be used, offered for sale, or sold,
 the specific thing so made, purchased, offered for sale, used, or
 imported. The court before which such matter is in question may
 provide for the continued manufacture, use, offer for sale, or sale
 of the thing made, purchased, offered for sale, or used within the
 United States, or imported into the United States, as specified, or
 for the manufacture, use, offer for sale, or sale in the United
 States of which substantial preparation was made after the 6-month
 grace period but before the acceptance of a maintenance fee under
 this subsection, and the court may also provide for the continued
 practice of any process that is practiced, or for the practice of
 which substantial preparation was made, after the 6-month grace
 period but before the acceptance of a maintenance fee under this
 subsection, to the extent and under such terms as the court deems
 equitable for the protection of investments made or business
 commenced after the 6-month grace period but before the acceptance
 of a maintenance fee under this subsection. 
 

 
 

 
 *****

 
 I. MAINTENANCE FEE BRANCH The Maintenance Fee Branch of the Receipts Accounting Division of
 the Office of Finance provides specialized advice and guidance to the public on
 maintenance fee matters. 
 

 The Maintenance Fee Branch determines the proper status of issued
 patents which are subject to payment of maintenance fees, receives and processes fee
 transmittals, updates entity status, responds to public inquiries on post-issuance
 status and maintenance fees, and determines if maintenance fees are timely and
 properly computed. This Branch also generates the data necessary to produce
 Official Gazette notices of maintenance fees due and of
 expiration of patents due to failure to pay maintenance fees.
 

 II. OFFICE OF PATENT APPLICATION PROCESSING The Office of Patent Application Processing (OPAP) updates patent
 post issuance automated files with the following information: 
 

 
 (A) Changes of Correspondence Address

 (B) Powers of Attorney and Revocations Thereof

 
 The official mailing address for submitting requests to update all
 post-issuance patent information is: 
 

 Director of the United States Patent and
 Trademark Office
Mail Stop Post Issue
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450

 [top] 

 

 

 
 

 
 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 2501-Introduction 

 2502-2503-[Reserved] 

 2504-Patents Subject to Maintenance Fees 

 2505-[Reserved] 

 2506-Times for Submitting Maintenance Fee Payments 

 2507-2509-[Reserved] 

 2510-Submission of Maintenance Fee Payments and Documents 

 2511-2514-[Reserved] 

 2515-Information Required for Submission of Maintenance Fee Payment 

 2516-2519-[Reserved] 

 2520-Maintenance Fee Amounts 

 2521-[Reserved] 

 2522-Methods of Payment 

 2523-2529-[Reserved] 

 2530-Special Acceptance of Maintenance Fee Payments Containing Informalities 

 2531-Payment Late or Insufficient 

 2532-Duplicate Payments 

 2533-2539-[Reserved] 

 2540-Fee Address for Maintenance Fee Purposes 

 2541-[Reserved] 

 2542-Change of Correspondence Address 

 2543-2549-[Reserved] 

 2550-Entity Status Discounts 

 2551-2559-[Reserved] 

 2560-Revocation of Power of Attorney and Withdrawal of Attorney 

 2561-2569-[Reserved] 

 2570-Maintenance Fee Payment Status Requests 

 2571-2574-[Reserved] 

 2575-Notices 

 2576-2579-[Reserved] 

 2580-Review of Decision Refusing to Accept and Record Payment of a Maintenance Fee Filed Prior to Expiration of Patent 

 2581-2589-[Reserved] 

 2590-Acceptance of Delayed Payment of Maintenance Fee in Expired Patent to Reinstate Patent 

 2591-Intervening Rights in Reinstated Patents 

 2592-2594-[Reserved] 

 2595-Forms 

 

 

 
 

 
 
 

 
 

 

 
 
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 Last Modified: 
 
 03/09/2026 20:50:46