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What happens to an issued patent when the maintenance fees are not paid?

11/27/2017

 
A patent that expires for the failure to pay the maintenance fee will expire at the end of the same date (anniversary date) the patent was granted in the 4th, 8th, or 12th year after grant.  The patent will no longer carry any legal force or effect for the purposes of infringement enforcement, but can still serve as an invalidating prior art reference against other patent applications.

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