[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 37, Volume 1]
[Revised as of July 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 37CFR1.378]

[Page 113-114]
 
              TITLE 37--PATENTS, TRADEMARKS, AND COPYRIGHTS
 
                         DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
 
PART 1--RULES OF PRACTICE IN PATENT CASES--Table of Contents
 
                Subpart B--National Processing Provisions
 
Sec. 1.378  Acceptance of delayed payment of maintenance fee in expired patent to reinstate patent.

    (a) The Commissioner may accept the payment of any maintenance fee 
due on a patent after expiration of the patent if, upon petition, the 
delay in payment of the maintenance fee is shown to the satisfaction of 
the Commissioner to have been unavoidable (paragraph (b) of this 
section) or unintentional (paragraph (c) of this section) and if the 
surcharge required by Sec. 1.20(i) is paid as a condition of accepting 
payment of the maintenance fee. If the Commissioner accepts payment of 
the maintenance fee upon petition, the patent shall be considered as not 
having expired, but will be subject to the conditions set forth in 35 
U.S.C. 41(c)(2).
    (b) Any petition to accept an unavoidably delayed payment of a 
maintenance fee filed under paragraph (a) of this section must include:
    (1) The required maintenance fee set forth in Sec. 1.20 (e) through 
(g);
    (2) The surcharge set forth in Sec. 1.20(i)(1); and
    (3) A showing that the delay was unavoidable since reasonable care 
was taken to ensure that the maintenance fee would be paid timely and 
that the petition was filed promptly after the patentee was notified of, 
or otherwise became aware of, the expiration of the patent. The showing 
must enumerate the steps taken to ensure timely payment of the 
maintenance fee, the date and the manner in which patentee became aware 
of the expiration of the patent, and the steps taken to file the 
petition promptly.
    (c) Any petition to accept an unintentionally delayed payment of a 
maintenance fee filed under paragraph

[[Page 114]]

(a) of this section must be filed within twenty-four months after the 
six-month grace period provided in Sec. 1.362(e) and must include:
    (1) The required maintenance fee set forth in Sec. 1.20 (e) through 
(g);
    (2) The surcharge set forth in Sec. 1.20(i)(2); and
    (3) A statement that the delay in payment of the maintenance fee was 
unintentional.
    (d) Any petition under this section must be signed by an attorney or 
agent registered to practice before the Patent and Trademark Office, or 
by the patentee, the assignee, or other party in interest.
    (e) Reconsideration of a decision refusing to accept a maintenance 
fee upon petition filed pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section may be 
obtained by filing a petition for reconsideration within two months of, 
or such other time as set in, the decision refusing to accept the 
delayed payment of the maintenance fee. Any such petition for 
reconsideration must be accompanied by the petition fee set forth in 
Sec. 1.17(h). After decision on the petition for reconsideration, no 
further reconsideration or review of the matter will be undertaken by 
the Commissioner. If the delayed payment of the maintenance fee is not 
accepted, the maintenance fee and the surcharge set forth in 
Sec. 1.20(i) will be refunded following the decision on the petition for 
reconsideration, or after the expiration of the time for filing such a 
petition for reconsideration, if none is filed. Any petition fee under 
this section will not be refunded unless the refusal to accept and 
record the maintenance fee is determined to result from an error by the 
Patent and Trademark Office.

[49 FR 34726, Aug. 31, 1984, as amended at 50 FR 9383, Mar. 7, 1985; 58 
FR 44282, Aug. 20, 1993; 62 FR 53199, Oct. 10, 1997]