IP Intelligence › Myths › Renewal fees are collected automatically.
Patent myth
“Renewal fees are collected automatically.”
Nothing is automatic. If a renewal is not paid within the period, or the six-month extension, the patent ceases to have effect.
Lapses happen through stale addresses on the register, agent changes and acquisitions. Restoration is possible but must be applied for within eighteen months of cessation, with a verified statement explaining the failure - and third parties who began working the invention during the lapse may keep protections.
A granted, valuable patent lost for the price of an annuity nobody was watching.
Sources & further reading
- The Patents Act, 1970 (consolidated to 1 August 2024) — Official IP India text
- The Patents Rules, 2003, as amended (e-version updated to 15 March 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…
Restoration
An application to bring back a patent that ceased for non-payment of renewal fees, which must be made within eighteen months from the date the patent ceased to have …
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…
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.