The UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) published amended directions on 8 November that came into force on 9 November and formally close the legacy government website channel for patent renewals. The directions, made by the comptroller under section 124A of the Patents Act 1977 and signed on 29 October, vary the E-directions for the common renewals service in force since 23 April 2021.
What was removed
The amendments take patents out of the shared renewals directions.
They delete the definitions of the Patents Act, the Patent Fees Rules, the Patents Rules and "patent", strip patent references from the definitions of renewal fee, renewal period and register, and delete paragraph 15. Also deleted are the sentence in paragraph 7 on a patent ceasing to have effect under section 25(3) and the sentence in paragraph 14 on sending a renewal notice to the address for service or a nominated address when a patent renewal is not paid in time.
How to renew now
Under the IPO's current renewal guidance, GB patents and European patents (UK), with numbers starting GB or EP, can be renewed online by signing in with a One Login account for UK government services and paid by debit or credit card or an IPO deposit account. Renewal by post, using the renewal form, or by phone is also possible. Online users can ask for an email reminder three months before the next due date.
The guidance still says that if a patent is not renewed on time, the IPO will send a reminder by post to the last address provided; to use a different address, owners must write to the IPO or renew by post.
The directions do not touch deadlines or fees. Under the current guidance, renewal starts on the fourth anniversary of filing and then falls due each year at the end of the filing month. Paying from three months before to one month after the due date avoids late fees; late payment is possible for up to six months at £32 per extra month, and after that owners have a further 13 months to apply for restoration with a reason. Fees rise from £90 in year 5 to £230 in year 10 and £810 in year 20.
J&C notes: owners of GB patents or European patents (UK) may want to check three things: that renewals have moved to the One Login online service, that the deposit account or payment card works, and that the postal address held by the IPO is still valid, since late reminders go to the last address provided.
Source: www.gov.uk | www.gov.uk
