On December 2005, Parliament approved Act XVIII of 2005 which amends the Patents and Designs Act 2000 (Cap 417) as follows: 

Patent renewal fees (or maintenance fees) are to be paid from the third year from the filing date of the application.  This system for maintenance fees for patents applies only to those applications filed on or after 1 January 2005.  Under the Patents Act (before amended), the first maintenance fee had to be paid from the fifth year onwards. Under the new Act, this term has now become ‘from the third year onwards’. Any patents having a filing date before the 1 January 2005 will continue to pay a maintenance fee from the fifth year onwards.

The maintenance fee may be paid at any time of the month during which the renewal date falls due.  This procedure for payment at any time during the month of the prescribed due date applies to all patents filed before, on and after 1 January 2005.

Typical Examples:

·          patent filing date - 2nd February 2004 – maintenance fee from the fifth year onwards - payable at any time of the month when the renewal date falls due;

·          patent filing date - 2 January 2005 - maintenance fee from the third year onwards – payable at any time of the month when the renewal date falls due.

Payment after the expiration of the period will incur a surcharge which will be counted by the number of months.