ePetition Filing Requirements: Petition to Accept Unintentional Delayed Payment of the Maintenance Fee (37 CFR 1.378 (b))

Below are the general filing requirements for an ePetition requesting to accept late payment of the maintenance fee, pursuant to 37 CFR 1.378(b):

• The user must enter a valid U.S. application number and patent number.
• The patent must be in an expired status.
• The patent must be expired for less than one year to file the ePetition.
• The filer must indicate the current entity status.
• The ePetition must be submitted from an inventor account or USPTO registered practitioner account. Sponsored accounts will not be able to submit the ePetition.
• All of the other requirements for a petition pursuant to 37 CFR 1.378(b) must be met.

NOTE: A successful ePetition submission will result in an Electronic Acknowledgement Receipt and Grant Letter being generated. Petitioners should verify that the information on the Electronic Acknowledgement Receipt and Grant Letter is complete and accurate as proof that the ePetition submission was successful.

Additional information on petitions to accept delayed payment of a maintenance fee after expiration of the patent based on unintentional delay is available on the  Common types of petitions handled by the Office of Petitions web page.