Patent Renewal in India
A granted Indian patent remains in force only if renewal fees are paid on time. A missed annuity can cause the patent to cease to have effect, putting at risk a right that may have taken years to secure. Foreign patentees without an Indian renewal agent, and holders of lapsed patents considering restoration under Section 60, are among those most exposed. Intepat operates renewal as a tracked, calendared service for single patents and full portfolios alike, with execution led by Registered Indian Patent Agents.
Speak to a Patent AgentPatent Renewal Timeline: India
What patent renewal in India covers
The renewal practice covers everything between grant and expiry that keeps the patent in force.
Annuity payment to the Indian Patent Office for granted patents
Calendared renewal tracking against the patent's date of patent and filing anchor
Advance reminders to the patentee or in-house team in the months preceding each due date, and execution of the payment within the statutory window
For foreign patentees without an existing Indian agent of record, the engagement additionally covers establishing the docket from scratch: verifying the date of patent, the current paid-up year, and the next statutory deadline from the patent record before confirming the renewal schedule
Restoration of patents that have already lapsed is available on request under Section 60 and is scoped separately
The Indian patent renewal process
Renewal in India is governed by the Patents Act, 1970. A granted patent has a term of twenty years from the date of filing; for PCT national phase applications, from the international filing date. Renewal fees become payable from the third year onward, calculated from the date of patent. The first renewal fee is due before the expiry of the second year from that anchor date and covers the third year.
The schedule is annual thereafter, with higher renewal amounts applying in later years of the patent term. Payment can be made for a single year or for two or more subsequent years in a single transaction.
Where a patent is granted after the third year from the filing date - common given examination timelines - arrear renewal fees may become payable after grant. Intepat verifies the date of patent, the filing date, and the paid-up position before confirming the renewal schedule for any newly granted patent.
If a renewal fee is not paid within the prescribed period, the Act permits an extension of up to six months on payment of the prescribed additional fee, without interruption to the patent. Beyond that extended window, the patent ceases to have effect. The Act then provides a statutory route to apply for restoration within eighteen months from the date on which the patent ceased to have effect, subject to the Controller being satisfied on the merits.
How Intepat handles patent renewals
Each patent admitted to renewal management is docketed against its grant record and paid-up year, with all forward-due dates calculated and recorded on day one. Reminders are sent on a structured cadence in the months before each due date so the patentee has clear visibility of upcoming spend and can confirm proceed-or-lapse decisions deliberately. On instruction, Intepat executes the payment with the Patent Office and confirms acknowledgement back to the patentee, along with an updated portfolio status report. For portfolios, the same workflow runs across the full docket, with consolidated quarterly or annual reporting against each patent. Communication runs through a single point of contact, and status visibility is maintained throughout the patent's life.
Documents and inputs required
Patent number
Date of patent
Date of filing
Patentee's current name and address
Most recent renewal acknowledgement and any open correspondence with the Patent Office
Where renewal is being transferred from a previous attorney or in-house team, these help confirm the paid-up position.
Signed authorisation from the patentee
Needed for Intepat to act on the record.
For portfolios: list of patents with their numbers, anchor dates, and last paid year
Sufficient to begin docketing.
Common pitfalls Intepat protects against
Most renewal failures are caused by docketing errors or handover gaps, not strategic decisions.
Wrong paid-up year anchor
Incorrect paid-up year data from a previous attorney, with the new docket starting from the wrong anchor.
Date calculation confusion
Confusion between the filing date, date of patent, and renewal year when computing the next due date.
Extension window misuse
Treating the six-month extension window as the routine deadline rather than a safety net.
Reminders lost in a generic mailbox
Reminders going to a generic mailbox where they sit unread.
Intepat verifies the patent record before docketing, records the current paid-up year, sends reminders to named contacts on a calendared cadence, and stores the Indian Patent Office acknowledgement against the renewal docket.
Who this is for
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Patent Renewal FAQs
When do patent renewals start in India?
Renewal fees become payable from the third year of the patent, calculated from the date of patent. The first renewal fee is due before the expiry of the second year and covers the third year. Renewal continues annually for the balance of the twenty-year term. The first few years often pass without active renewal because fees only begin accruing from year three, which can lead patentees to assume renewal is dormant when it is in fact about to commence.
What happens if a renewal fee is missed?
The Patents Act, 1970 permits an extension of up to six months on payment of an additional fee, without interruption to the patent. If the fee plus the additional fee is paid within that extended window, the patent continues in force uninterrupted. If the window closes without payment, the patent ceases to have effect, and reviving it requires a separate restoration application under Section 60 within eighteen months from the date on which the patent ceased to have effect. Restoration is not automatic; it is a merits-based application before the Controller.
Can a lapsed patent be restored?
The Act provides a route for restoration through an application filed within eighteen months from the date on which the patent ceased to have effect. The Controller considers whether the failure to pay was unintentional and whether there was no undue delay in filing the restoration request. A restoration application is therefore available, but a successful restoration is not guaranteed; outcomes depend on the explanation, the timing of the application, and any third-party intervening rights that may have arisen during the lapse.
How is renewal handled for portfolios?
For multi-patent portfolios, renewal is run as a single docket with consolidated tracking, advance reminders on a calendared cadence, and periodic status reporting to the in-house team or business owner. Payments can be batched where due dates cluster, and proceed-or-lapse decisions can be reviewed at the portfolio level so that renewal spend tracks current commercial fit. A portfolio audit is often the right first step to establish the renewal baseline.
Are renewal fees the same throughout patent life?
No. Renewal fees in India are tiered, with higher amounts applying in later years of the patent term. Fee amounts also depend on the patentee category - natural person, startup, small entity, or others - with concessional rates available to qualifying applicants. Current rates are confirmed at the point of renewal rather than quoted in advance, as the rates are set by the Patent Rules and revised from time to time.
Does Intepat handle restoration of lapsed patents?
Restoration is handled as a separate mandate from routine renewal. A restoration application under Section 60 is a merits-based filing before the Controller, opened on instruction with its own scoping discussion. Where a patent is identified as lapsed during a renewal handover or portfolio audit, whether restoration is worth pursuing - and whether the eighteen-month window remains open - is part of that conversation. The renewal practice is scoped to patents that are in force; restoration sits adjacent to it.
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