1. The term of patent shall be 20 years from the submission date of the patent application.
2. The patentee or patent applicant shall pay the annual fees, which are determined periodically, in the following manner to the Department for the purpose of maintaining the patent or patent application:
- Prescribed fee shall be paid within six months before the due date of the annual fee.
- For late payment of annual fees, payment shall be made within only six months granted as the grace period, starting from the day after the date on which the payment period for the annual fee expires. In making this payment, the prescribed annual fee as well as overdue penalties shall be paid.
3. The Registrar:
- Shall record payment of annual fees in the registration records.
- Shall cancel the patent or patent application for which annual fees are not paid within the six-month grace period.
- May maintain a cancelled patent, without making an announcement, before the end of one year after the prescribed payment period if the failure to pay the annual fee is considered to be sufficient and does not damage the rights of other persons.
- Shall record the cancelled patent or patent application in the registration records and make a public announcement in the prescribed manner. 50. In cases of exceeding the last date prescribed in section 48, the applicant or patentee may request the Registrar for the re-grant of rights, provided that it conforms to the requirements contained in section 31.
