MPEP Section 2531, Payment Late or Insufficient

Executive summary:

This document contains Section 2531 ("Payment Late or Insufficient") of the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (the "M.P.E.P."), Eighth Edition, Eighth Revision (July 2010). This page was last updated in January 2011. You may return to the section index to find a particular section. Alternatively, you may search the MPEP using the search box that appears on the left side of every page of BitLaw--you may restrict your search to the MPEP on the search results page.

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2531 Payment Late or Insufficient [R-2]

Examples of when a payment of maintenance fees and any necessary surcharges will be considered to be late or insufficient include instances when:

(A) Though a payment was received, additional funds are required due to surcharge or fee increase;

(B) Though a payment was received in an amount for small entity, the patented file records do not indicate that an assertion of small entity status was received; or

(C) The payment was received after the patent expired.

If the Office considers a payment to be late or insufficient, a notice (e.g., a Notice of Non-Acceptance of Patent Maintenance Fee (PTO-2142)) will be sent to the "fee submitter." Reply to the notice is required prior to expiration of the grace period provided by 37 CFR 1.362(e) in order to avoid the expiration of the patent. If a reply is not received prior to expiration of the patent, then an appropriate petition under 37 CFR 1.377 or 37 CFR 1.378 is required. See MPEP § 2580 and § 2590.

If a payment is deemed insufficient because the payment was submitted in the small entity amount but no written assertion of entitlement to small entity status has been filed, a Notice of Non-Acceptance of Small Entity Patent Maintenance Fee (PTO-2140) will be mailed to the fee submitter. See MPEP § 2550 for information on establishing or changing an entity status for the purpose of paying a maintenance fee.<

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