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A patent annuity payment, also called a patent renewal fee or a patent maintenance fee, is the recurring official fee that keeps a granted patent in force in one country or region. Without it the patent lapses, and anyone can use the invention it protected. Most offices charge it every year for up to 20 years.
A patent annuity payment buys one more period of legal force and nothing else. It does not improve the patent, extend its maximum term, or widen what it covers.
Two separate costs sit inside a single renewal: the official fee set by the patent office, and everything else. That second group is what varies between providers. It includes local agent fees where a jurisdiction requires a registered representative, the provider's own service fee, currency conversion, and any handling charges.
For the same renewal, the official fee is set by the relevant patent office and does not change based on which provider pays it. What varies between providers are the non-official costs, including service fees, local agent or intermediary fees, bank and transaction fees, and foreign exchange markups. These are the costs that make two quotes for the same portfolio diverge.
Due dates are keyed to the filing or priority date in most jurisdictions, not the grant date. The pattern varies by office, some of the examples include:
| Jurisdiction | How patent renewal fees fall due |
|---|---|
| Most jurisdictions | Annually, usually until the 20 year term ends |
| European Patent Office | Annually while the application is pending, then to each national office after validation |
| Unitary patent | A single patent renewal fee to the EPO covering all participating states |
| United States | A small number of maintenance payments after grant, not an annual cycle |
Almost every office sets patent renewal fees on a rising scale, so holding a patent costs more in year 15 than in year 5.
For a portfolio, this matters because renewal costs usually rise as patents get older. A smaller group of older patents can therefore account for a large share of the annual renewal budget. Simply counting patents is not enough. You need to look at what each patent actually costs to maintain that year.
The patent lapses. Most jurisdictions allow a grace period during which the fee can still be paid with a surcharge, typically up to six months, though Georgia and Ukraine allow up to 12 months and Albania allows eight. Not every jurisdiction offers one, and the surcharge can be considerably higher than the original fee. The rules that apply in each jurisdiction are set out in our guide to grace and surcharge periods. Once the grace period closes, the patent is expired.
Most portfolios start in-house. While the number of patents is small, an IP manager or paralegal can track the deadlines directly. Once a portfolio spans several jurisdictions, three other options take over.
