Blog
Insights on patents, trademarks, and design protection
Mexico Patent Annuities: Management Manual
A management manual on Mexican (MX) patent annuities, organized around the five-year (quinquenio) prepayment structure and the "month" deadline tied to the filing-date anniversary. It covers when payments start, grace periods, restoration, fee reductions, official fees and a practice checklist.
India Patent Annuities: Management Manual
A practice-oriented manual on Indian (IN) patent annuities: anchor date, due-date calculation, grace period, restoration, fee reductions and advance payment. It highlights easy-to-miss points such as the (N−1) anniversary due-date structure counted from the filing date and the re-determination of entity status at every payment.
Indonesia Patent Annuities: Management Manual
A patent annuity management manual for Indonesia (ID). It covers the filing-date anchor, deadlines falling one month before each anniversary, the retroactive lump-sum first payment due within 6 months of grant certificate issuance, the 6-month grace period with a 100% surcharge, the absence of any restoration route (cancellation), and the fee schedule effective 2026-08-01.
Hong Kong Patent Annuities: Management Manual
A manual for managing Hong Kong (HK) patent renewal fees. It covers the anchor date based on the designated application filing date, anniversary-based deadline calculation, payment starting from the 4th to 20th year, the 6-month grace period with a flat HK$270 surcharge, restoration within 18 months after lapse, official fees and a management checklist.
United Arab Emirates Patent Annuities: Management Manual
Manual for managing patent annuities in the United Arab Emirates (AE). It covers the filing-date anchor, payment from the 2nd year including while pending, the 3-month surcharge-free grace period and monthly fines, restoration conditions, the official fees effective 2024-01-15, and a management checklist.
United States Patent Annuities: Management Manual
United States (US) patent maintenance fee management manual. Covers the three-payment structure at 3.5/7.5/11.5 years from the issue date, deadline calculation examples, the 6-month grace period and surcharge, unintentional-delay restoration petitions, entity discounts, the 2025-01-19 fee schedule, and how PTE/PTA relate to maintenance fees from a practice perspective.
Japan Patent Annuities: Management Manual
Japan (JP) patent annuity management manual. Covers the registration date as the anchor, deadlines falling on the anniversary date itself, the lump-sum payment of years 1-3 and yearly payment from year 4, the 6-month grace period (double amount), restoration requirements, reductions for years 1-10, the per-claim surcharge rates, and the treatment of years 21-25 where the term is extended.
European Patent Office (EPO) Patent Annuities: Management Manual
A practice manual for European Patent Office (EPO) pre-grant renewal fees: filing-date anchor with month-end due dates, the Euro-PCT 31-month deferral, the 6-month grace period with a 50% surcharge, restoration without further processing, the 30% reduction, the post-grant handover to national states or the Unitary Patent, and SPCs.
China Patent Annuities: Management Manual
Manual for managing Chinese (CNIPA) patent annuities. Covers annuity counting from the filing date, deadlines falling on the corresponding date itself, the 6-month grace period and late fees, restoration procedures, official fees, and annuity handling under pharmaceutical patent term compensation, all from a practical management standpoint.
Korea Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH): Requirements, Documents & Fees
If a foreign office (US, JP, CN, EPO…) or the PCT international phase has found one of your claims allowable, you can request priority examination in Korea with no extra PPH fee. Here are the types, requirements, documents, and costs.
Why prior-art search comes first in a patent application
Prior-art search determines registrability, claim scope, and office-action cost. Here is why it must precede drafting.
Korean Patent Annuity Fees: Costs, Payment, Discounts, and Recovery
A practitioner's guide to Korean patent annuity fees — fee schedule, normal and grace periods, the 3-year bulk discount, SME and individual reductions, and recovery after lapse.
Korean Patent Invalidation Trials: A Practitioner's Guide
Korean patent invalidation trials succeed in roughly half of all cases. A practitioner's guide to standing, grounds, procedure, and the retroactive effect of a final decision.
Korean Food Recipe Patents: Eligibility and the Trade-Secret Alternative
Recipes are patentable in Korea as food compositions or processes, but the inventive-step bar is the gating issue. We unpack what works, with the Coca-Cola / KFC trade-secret playbook.
AI / Software / BM Patents in Korea: Eligibility vs. US §101
Korean BM/SW patents require a hardware-coupled claim. We compare KIPO eligibility with the US Alice/Mayo §101 framework and walk through workable claim patterns.
Trade Secret vs. Patent: Which Path Protects Your Innovation?
Patents trade publication for 20-year exclusivity; trade secrets trade silence for indefinite protection. We compare the two using Korean law and the Coca-Cola example.