Renewals/Annuities
Intellectual property offices around the world charge taxes on intellectual property rights such as patents, trade marks, registered designs and plant breeder’s rights. These are called 'renewal fees' or 'maintenance fees' or sometimes 'annuities'.
The amount of renewal fees (monetary value) and frequency of payment (the starting point when they become payable and how often they need to be paid) will vary, depending on the Intellectual Property Office, the type of intellectual property right, and a number of other factors. In general, the renewal fees must be paid on time or the intellectual property right will lapse. Usually, if the initial deadline is missed the intellectual property right can be automatically reinstated by paying additional fees within a 6 month grace period. After that, it is difficult or impossible to reinstate the intellectual property right. Ensuring that your renewal fees are paid is an important part of managing your IP portfolio and protecting the value of your commercial enterprise.
You can chose one of the following options on how to manage your renewals:
Option 1: You can manage your renewal payments yourself.
Option 2: CPA Global Limited/Clarivate can manage your renewal payments.
FB Rice has joined a specialist renewal agency called CPA Global Limited in order to effectively pay renewal fees around the world. CPA Global have recently been acquired by Clarivate. By using Clarivate we are able to ensure you receive reminders about renewal fees, and that your instructions to either pay the renewal fees or allow the intellectual property right to lapse are efficiently processed.
Further information about Clarivate may be found here.
Clarivate sends renewal reminder notices directly to you and attends to the renewal payment upon receipt of your instructions. There is no obligation upon you to use the services of Clarivate; however, where Clarivate services are used, the partners of FB Rice derive a financial benefit from Clarivate.
Option 3: FB Rice can manage your renewals.
For our clients who choose not to use CPA Global/Clarivate, FB Rice provides a full in-house specialist renewals service by our renewals team who monitor deadlines, send renewal reminders to you, and pay renewal fees on receipt of your instructions. Our renewals team can also tailor our renewals service to meet your needs, including providing quarterly or monthly portfolio reports for larger portfolios, and automatically paying renewals.
