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Titles of protection maintenance

Titles of protection obtained (patents for inventions, utility models, industrial designs, trademark certificates) must be kept in force, otherwise they will terminate ahead of schedule - this is their difference from many other documents of entitlement. In each country of the world, the procedure for maintaining titles of protection in force calls for its own requirements for setting the start date for the timing of payment of state fees, the frequency of payment, and the calculation formulas for these fees. Thus, in some countries, state fees for maintaining patents are paid at intervals of one year, in others - at intervals of several years, and in others - at intervals of several years and several months. In some countries, the amount of official annuities depends on the number of independent claims of a patent, and for trademarks, on the number of classes. In a number of countries, in order to maintain a patent in force, it is necessary to declare the use of inventions protected by it or to justify non-use.

Therefore, maintaining titles of protection in force is not such an easy task that any rightsholder can cope with it on her own. It is much more reliable and efficient to entrust the care of your portfolio of rights to a law firm that has experts in dealing with titles of protection.

Our company has a separate specialized department that works utilizing a unique computer monitoring system, allowing to track the annuities' payment due dates in any country in the world. Accounting for industrial property and timely reporting on the deadlines, cost and procedure for the necessary actions is done free of charge for our customers, in the most convenient way for them. In addition, when working with us, clients always know when and what actions must be taken to preserve the rights to their industrial property.

In most jurisdictions, it is the responsibility of owners of titles of protection to maintain up-to-date information about themselves in the state registries of patents for inventions and trademark certificates. We will always assist clients in the issues of correct and timely registration of changes in respect of titles of protection, as well as transactions with them (transfer of rights, mergers/acquisitions, etc.).