If you’ve been wondering, “How long do patents last?”, you’ll get some clarity today. Miscalculating patent duration could lead to premature loss of intellectual property rights and significant financial losses. Our patent lawyers have helped businesses and inventors successfully apply for and maintain patents. Here’s what you need to know about the validity terms of patents to help you protect your inventions.
How Long Do Patents Last?
The patent’s life varies depending on the type, with utility patents and nonprovisional applications lasting 20 years from the filing date and design patents extending 15 years from the date the patent is issued. Provisional patents only secure a filing date. Plant and international patents run for 20 years, and continuing patent applications maintain the original 20-year term.
Note that the patent expiration date may be adjusted due to various factors, such as regulatory reviews or processing delays. As patent attorneys, we can provide you with timing guidelines for patent protection across various categories, helping you secure licensing agreements and IP rights at the right time.
Patent Terms Depending on the Patent Type
Different patent types protect different IP rights and last different lengths of time.
How Long Is a Utility Patent Good For?
Utility patents filed after June 8, 1995, are good for a period of 20 years from the filing date of the nonprovisional application for the original invention. This term of 20 years can be subject to adjustments and extensions.
Utility patents are the main types of patents that are issued. These patents protect the IP of novel products, machines, processes, or compositions of matter that are considered useful. Once granted, a utility patent protects the way something is used and works.
How Long Does a Design Patent Last?
Design patents are good for a period of 15 years from the date of issuance of an application for the design invention. This 15-year design patent is generally not subject to adjustments and extensions like a utility application could be.
These patents protect the IP of the shape, appearance, or other attributes of how something looks. You can apply for both utility and design patents for the same invention if your invention has both a useful application and the design features you want to protect.
How Long Is a Provisional Patent Good For?
A provisional patent application itself doesn’t provide protection or extend a patent’s life. Instead, it serves to secure a filing date, allowing one year to file a nonprovisional application, which starts the 20-year term from the nonprovisional application’s filing date.
A provisional patent application is an informal application that preserves your date with the USPTO without requiring you to file a more formal application. People often like to file a provisional application to preserve an earlier date in the first-to-file patent right environment.
How Long Does a Patent Last Under a Nonprovisional Application?
This application’s filing date is used to calculate the term. In this case, a patent will generally expire 20 years later.
A nonprovisional patent application is the formal application you submit under oath or declaration to the USPTO.
How Long Does a Patent Last Under a Continuing Application?
A patent granted on a continuing application preserves this priority and will expire 20 years from the date of the first nonprovisional application for the original patent. This rule prevents inventors from extending their monopoly.
A continuing application (or continuation-in-part) is used when you seek to claim additional subject matter or make improvements or add-ons. Since it simply builds off of your original patent application and associated IP, the same terms apply to any improvements that might have been made to its original form.
How Long Is a Plant Patent Good For?
Plant patents are valid for twenty years once it’s granted, providing protection to the patent holder for unique varieties of asexually reproduced plants. After twenty years, the plant patent expires and the protected plant variety enters the public domain, allowing anyone to propagate and sell the plant without restriction.
Plant patents are specifically designed to protect new and distinct varieties of plants that have been invented or discovered. This gives the holder exclusive rights to prevent others from asexually reproducing, selling, or using the protected plant during the term.
How Long Is an International Patent Good for?
Technically, no “international patent” exists. However, the Patent Cooperation Treaty simplifies the filing process across member countries. Each country’s patent office enforces terms, often 20 years for utility patents and 15 years for design patents.
When people go to patent a product, they often apply for a patent internationally. The treaty provides a unified procedure for submitting applications that “hold” or establish priority rights in countries participating in the treaty. The patent law of each individual country will determine the term in that country.
Factors That Affect How Long Your Patent Is Good For
Certain situations and requirements from the USPTO can influence the term duration of patents.
- Application dates: The date that you file your application has a direct effect on how long patents will be good for. This is also known as your “priority date”.
- Term adjustments: The USPTO applies term adjustments to account for delays that may take place while your patent is pending. The USPTO may take a while to review your initial application or may take a long time to review any changes you make.
- Term extension: A term extension extends the term that claims a product that requires regulatory approval prior to being sold or requires a specific method of using or manufacturing the product. It most commonly applies to pharmaceuticals, food additives, and medical devices that are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration.
Patent Term by Application Type Calculation
An example will help illustrate how a patent’s application dates affect how long it is good for. Suppose you:
- Filed a provisional application on January 1, 2000;
- Filed a nonprovisional application on January 1, 2001;
- Received patent approval on May 30, 2002;
Then your patent would last until January 1, 2021. The USPTO has developed a downloadable patent term calculator to help you estimate how long your patent will be good for.
Patent Term Adjustment Calculation
Patent Term Adjustments (PTA): The USPTO provides adjustments under 35 U.S.C. § 154(b) when delays are due to USPTO processing delays. This prevents loss of protection time due to the application backlog.
Term adjustment will be calculated by applying the number of days your application was delayed by the USPTO to your term. When delays overlap between the different categories, the overlapping days are not double-counted in the total term.
Any days attributed to applicant delays are subtracted from the Patent Office delays. While the USPTO automatically calculates and applies this number, it’s a good idea to check with a patent attorney to make sure you received applicable time extensions.
Patent Term Extension Calculation
Extensions primarily apply to FDA-regulated products (e.g., pharmaceuticals, medical devices) under 35 U.S.C. § 156, extending a patent term up to five years due to regulatory approval delays.
The USPTO works with the applicable regulating agency to decide whether or not you can apply for a term extension and to determine the associated extension length. The term can be extended by one-half the time of the product’s testing phase, and the full time of the product’s review phase with the applicable agency.
Importance of a Patent’s Term
Understanding the term of your patent is important because it tells you how long a patent owner keeps the intellectual property and patent rights to your patented invention. The 35 U.S.C. § 154 states:
Every patent shall contain a short title of the invention and a grant to the patentee, his heirs or assigns, of the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling the invention throughout the United States or importing the invention into the United States, and, if the invention is a process, of the right to exclude others from using, offering for sale or selling throughout the United States, or importing into the United States, products made by that process, referring to the specification for the particulars thereof.
To make, use, or sell a patented invention, other people will have to go through the owner and get their express permission. The owner controls the market for that invention and can reap the benefits of their ingenuity. You can still reinstate this for the remainder of its term, as long as you pay additional petition fees to reinstate it on top of the maintenance fees.
Related Questions
How Can I Maximize My Patent if It Will Expire Soon?
When your patent’s expiry date is fast approaching, there are still ways you can maximize your IP. For example, you can develop licensing agreements that continue beyond expiration. Patent owners can also file new patents for modifications or enhancements to an original invention, even after the initial patent expires.
Can You Own a Patent Forever?
No, patents have limited terms and eventually expire, after which the protected existing inventions enter the public domain. In the United States, utility patents last for 20 years, design patents last for 15 years from issuance, and plant patents last for 20 years.
Can You Extend a Patent’s Duration?
Patent extensions are possible primarily for pharmaceutical and biotech patents that face regulatory delays during the FDA approval process, with extensions lasting up to five years yet not exceeding 14 years from FDA approval. Terms can also be extended due to USPTO delays, though extensions must meet specific timing requirements and conditions.
Can Patents Be Renewed After They Expire?
Generally, a patent can’t be renewed after the patent expiration. When maintenance fees are not paid within their proper time periods, patents will expire prematurely. However, if it lapsed prematurely for a different reason, the owner may be able to reinstate it.
Are There Any Ongoing Fees That Need To Be Paid?
Utility patents require maintenance fees to be paid at 3.5, 7.5, and 11.5 years after issuance to remain enforceable. Design and plant patents do not require maintenance fees, though foreign patents often require annual fees called annuities throughout their entire term.
When Can a Patent Be Invalidated?
A patent can be invalidated if claims are deemed invalid through either USPTO administrative proceedings (like reexamination or post-grant review) or through federal court civil actions. Such invalidation effectively terminates the patent’s enforceability before its normal expiration date.
Conclusion
Patent law provides inventors like you with clear guidelines on patent protection periods, enabling you to make informed decisions about your intellectual property strategy and maximize your market advantage. With granted patent protection, you can confidently invest in your innovations and commercialization efforts, knowing exactly how long you have exclusive rights to your inventions.
