MPEP § 2575 — MPEP § 2575
Current through: 2022-07-01

2575-Notices 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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 Manual of Patent Examining Procedure 

 Chapter 2500 

 Section 2575 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 2575 Notices [R-01.2024]

 Under the statutes and the regulations, the Office has no duty to notify
 patentees when their maintenance fees are due. It is the responsibility of the patentee
 to ensure that the maintenance fees are paid to prevent expiration of the patent. The
 Office will, however, provide some notices as reminders that maintenance fees are due,
 but the notices, errors in the notices or in their delivery, or the lack or tardiness of
 notices will in no way relieve a patentee from the responsibility to make timely payment
 of each maintenance fee to prevent the patent from expiring by operation of law. The
 notices provided by the Office are courtesies in nature and intended to aid patentees.
 The Office’s provision of notices in no way shifts the burden of monitoring the time for
 paying maintenance fees on patents from the patentee to the Office.
 

 I. STANDARD NOTICES The patent grant currently includes a reminder notice that
 maintenance fees may be due. The Notice of Allowance currently includes a reminder
 notice that maintenance fees may be due.
 

 II. OFFICIAL GAZETTE NOTICE A notice will appear in each issue of the Official
 Gazette which will indicate which patents have been granted 3, 7, and
 11 years earlier, that the window period has opened, and that maintenance fee
 payments will now be accepted for those patents. 
 

 Another Official Gazette notice published after
 expiration of the grace period will indicate any patent which has expired due to
 nonpayment of maintenance fees and any patents which have been reinstated. An annual
 compilation of such expirations and reinstatements will also be published.
 

 III. MAINTENANCE FEE REMINDERS Since patentees are expected to maintain their own record and
 docketing systems and since it is expected that most patentees will pay their
 maintenance fees during the window period to avoid payment of a surcharge, the
 Office will not send any reminder notices to the patentee until after the grace
 period has begun. This will reduce and simplify the mailing of notices but still
 give patentees an opportunity to pay their maintenance fee with surcharge during the
 grace period before expiration of their patents. The Office will mail any
 Maintenance Fee Reminder to the fee address as set forth in 37 CFR 1.363 .
 See MPEP §
 2540 .
 

 IV. RECEIPT NOTICES Upon request, the Office will issue a receipt for payment of
 maintenance fees submitted by mail or facsimile after entry of the maintenance fee
 payment. Such a receipt, which is sent to the fee address (if no fee address, then
 the correspondence address), will provide an opportunity for the patentee or fee
 submitter to check if the Office has properly credited the payment. 
 

 V. EXPIRATION NOTICES The Office will mail a Notice of Patent Expiration to the fee
 address as set forth in 37 CFR 1.363 when Office
 records indicate that a patent has expired for failure to pay a required maintenance
 fee.
 

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 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 20:50:47