IP Intelligence › Myths › A patent is a one-time cost.
Patent myth
“A patent is a one-time cost.”
Filing is the small part. Prosecution, foreign filings, national phases, renewals for up to twenty years and portfolio management are the large part.
Renewal fees are payable from the expiration of the second year from the date of the patent and every year after, and they escalate. Across a family in five countries over twenty years, renewals typically dwarf the original filing cost. This is why pruning matters as much as filing.
Portfolios accumulate cases nobody has assessed since they were filed, each costing money every year.
Sources & further reading
- The Patents Act, 1970 (consolidated to 1 August 2024) — Official IP India text
Related
Renewal fee
A fee payable to keep a patent in force, due from the expiration of the second year from the date of the patent and each year after that, payable before the year exp…
The patent died of neglect
Renewal fees are due from the expiration of the second year from the date of the patent, and each year after. Miss them and the patent ceases to have effect - usuall…
Pruning a portfolio without losing anything you need
Case by case, against stated criteria, with three checks before anything is dropped - and with the decision and its reason written down.
Not sure whether this applies to your invention?
The honest answer usually needs someone to look at your actual disclosure, your timeline and the prior art. That is a conversation, not an article.
Educational guidance, not legal advice. This material is published by Ragulika IP for general education and information. It is not legal advice, it does not create a professional-client relationship, and it is not a substitute for advice on your own facts. Patentability, infringement, prosecution strategy and every other IP outcome turn on the specific facts and on the law and Patent Office practice as they stand at the time you act. Please take professional advice before making a decision, and read the underlying provision or judgment before relying on any point stated here.
Last reviewed by Ragulika IP on 2026-08-23. Indian patent law and Patent Office practice change; check the position before you rely on it.