Blog
Insights on patents, trademarks, and design protection
Madrid International Trademark (WIPO) Trademark Renewal: Management Manual
A practice manual for renewing Madrid international trademark registrations: the ten-year cycle from the international registration date, renewal by payment alone with no examination, the six-month grace period with a flat surcharge, and the separate clocks in the United States, the Philippines and Mexico that can kill a right even after WIPO renewal is complete.
South Africa Patent Annuities: Management Manual
A practice manual for South African patent renewal fees: the first renewal anchored to the later of sealing or the third anniversary of filing, the separate accrual deadline for PCT cases, a fee scale that is not monotonic — later years can cost less — and the fact that a foreign firm can pay directly.
Vietnam Patent Annuities: Management Manual
A practice manual for Vietnamese patent annuities: payable only after registration, priced per independent claim, and with no restoration mechanism, so the six-month grace period is the last line of defence.
Philippines Patent Annuities: Management Manual
A practice manual for Philippine patent annuities. Uniquely, the anchor is the publication date; fees are charged while the application is still pending; and non-payment is treated as withdrawal of the application. There is no restoration, so the six-month grace period is all there is.
Israel Patent Annuities: Management Manual
A practice manual for Israeli patent renewal fees: not annual instalments but five renewal blocks, the first falling three months after grant and covering the period accrued while pending, with an option to prepay the entire term that removes every later deadline.
Egypt Patent Annuities: Management Manual
A practice manual for Egyptian patent annuities: payable from the second year while examination is still pending, a grace period counted from the office notice, and a substantial fee increase in October 2025 whose current amounts have not been confirmed.
Brazil Patent Annuities: Management Manual
A practice manual for Brazilian patent annuities: the numbering trap where the third annuity is anchored to the second anniversary of filing, the split between the ordinary and extended payment windows, the doubling of the fee with no reduction available in the extended window, and the dismissal of the application if payment is missed while examination is pending.
Hague International Design (WIPO) Design Maintenance: Management Manual
A practice manual for renewing Hague international design registrations at WIPO: five-year cycles from the international registration date, a single point of payment, a grace surcharge charged on the basic fee only, free partial renewal by design and by contracting party, and term limits that differ by designated country.
Taiwan Design Maintenance: Management Manual
A practice manual for Taiwanese design patent annuities: the anchor is the publication date rather than the registration date, the due date is the day before the anniversary, the grace surcharge accrues at 20% per month up to 100%, restoration costs three times the fee, and the flat-amount reduction brings the first three years down to zero.
Japan Design Maintenance: Management Manual
A practice manual for Japanese design (isho) annuities: the right arises on payment of a single year's fee, unlike the bundled first three years for patents; due dates on the registration anniversary; a grace period at double the fee; a restoration fee far lower than for patents; and the complete absence of any reduction for designs.
Canada Design Maintenance: Management Manual
A practice manual for Canadian industrial design maintenance: a single payment due by the 5th anniversary of registration and nothing thereafter, the absence of any restoration if that one deadline is missed, the term split between the current and former Act, and the fact that, unlike patents, designs have no small entity reduction.
Singapore Patent Annuities: Management Manual
A practice manual for Singapore patent renewal fees: the 5th-year fee falling due at the 4th anniversary of filing, the late-grant rule requiring accrued fees within three months of grant, a grace surcharge that differs in the first month, restoration within 18 months of lapse, and the dedicated rate for patents with an extended term.
Canada Patent Annuities: Management Manual
A practice manual for Canadian patent maintenance fees: annual payments from the 2nd anniversary of filing, a grace structure you cannot rely on office notices for, restoration on a due-care standard with a low success rate, third-party rights that arise automatically six months after the due date, the once-and-for-all small entity determination, and the CSP, which carries no maintenance fees.
Australia Patent Annuities: Management Manual
A practice manual for Australian patent renewal fees: a single axis running from the 4th to the 19th anniversary of filing regardless of grant, a grace period accruing at AUD 100 per month, an unusually generous extension of time with no absolute cut-off, and the steeply priced 20th-24th anniversary band that appears when a pharmaceutical term extension is granted.
Taiwan Patent Annuities: Management Manual
A practice manual for managing Taiwan (TW) patent annuities. It covers Taiwan's distinctive calculation rules — the publication date as the anchor and the deadline falling on the "day before the anniversary" — together with the 20% per-month grace surcharge, restoration (1 year, triple payment), fixed-amount reductions and advance payment, arranged in the order of actual practice.
Thailand Patent Annuities: Management Manual
A patent annuity management manual for Thailand (TH). It covers deadline calculation for the 5th to 20th years counted from the filing date, the 120-day grace period with a 30% surcharge, the practical absence of a restoration system, the lump-sum prepayment option (THB 140,000), and a management checklist.