Renewal strategy, and the 10% nobody claims

Three levers

Prune deliberately. The largest saving is not paying for cases that protect nothing. That is a portfolio review question, not a payments question.

Pay in advance. The 2024 Rules introduced a ten per cent reduction in renewal fees where they are paid electronically for at least four years in advance. On a large portfolio that is real money, and almost nobody claims it.

Watch the accrual cases. Where a patent is granted more than two years after filing, several years of renewals can fall due almost immediately after grant. There is a specific provision for paying them within a period after the patent is recorded - but only if someone notices.

The thing that actually causes losses

Not cost. Custody. Address changes, agent changes and acquisitions are how Indian patents are lost, and the lapse is usually discovered by a licensee or a competitor rather than by the owner.

Keep the address for service on the register current, make the docket an explicit handover item in any transaction, and audit the whole portfolio twice a year.

What to actually do

• The biggest saving is not renewing what protects nothing.
• Claim the advance-payment discount where it applies.
• Watch patents granted late - renewals can accrue immediately.
• Keep the register address current and audit twice a year.