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Patent Maintenance Fee

This online tool automatically calculates the USPTO patent maintenance fee due for the given patent.

Maintenance fees are due three times during the life of a patent, and may be paid without surcharge anytime during the following time periods:

First payment: 3 to 3 ½ years after the date of issue
Second payment: 7 to 7 ½ years after the date of issue and
Third and final payment: 11 to 11 ½ years after the date of issue.

Maintenance fees may be paid with a surcharge during the following "grace periods:"

First payment: 3 ½ years and through the day of the 4th anniversary of the grant of the patent;
Second payment: 7 ½ years and through the day of the 8th anniversary of the grant of the patent; and
Third and final payment: 11 ½ years and through the day of the 12th anniversary of the grant of the patent.

If the last day for paying a maintenance fee or any applicable surcharge falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday, the fee may be paid on the succeeding day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday

Claim Chart Generator

This online tool automatically creates a claim chart template for the requested patent number. The claim chart can be generated in different formats like Word, Excel or HTML. The tool can generate charts either for all claims or for independent claims only (check the box provided).

Patent Term Calculator

In the United States, under current patent law, the term of a patent is either 20 years from the earliest claimed filing date or 17 years from the issue date, depending on the filing date and the issue date (provided that the maintenance fees are paid in due time)

For applications that were pending on and for patents that were still in force on June 8, 1995, the patent term is either 17 years from the issue date or 20 years from the earliest claimed filing date, the longer term applying.
For applications filed on or after June 8, 1995, the patent term is 20 years from the earliest claimed filing date.

Reference Picker

Reference Picker 1.0 is a downloadable software tool that enables you to easily extract the US references, foreign references and other references from any patent specification (.rtf, .doc). The extracted references are displayed in MSExcel Format with links to the respective pages and are also concurrently highlighted in the given patent document.