Legal Article: From the date when the Patent Administration Department of the State Council announces the grant of a patent right, any unit or individual that believes that the grant of the patent right does not comply with the relevant provisions of the Patent Law may request the Patent Reexamination Board to declare the patent right. invalid.

Interpretation: This article is about the circumstances under which patent rights are terminated before expiration. This article stipulates two situations in which the patent right shall be terminated before the expiration of the term:

1. If the patentee fails to pay the annual fee in accordance with the provisions of this Law, the patentee shall pay the annual fee on time. This is an obligation of the patentee and a necessary condition for maintaining the validity of its patent rights. If the patentee wants to maintain the validity of his patent right before the expiration of the protection period, he must pay annual fees on time. Otherwise, in accordance with the principle of reciprocity of rights and obligations, if the company fails to fulfill its obligation to pay annual fees on time, it will not be able to continue to maintain its right to enjoy patent protection. Considering that the patentee's failure to pay the annual fee on time may be due to his mistakes or some special reasons, in order to treat the rights of the patentee carefully, the Implementing Rules of the Patent Law provide a remedy, that is, the patentee fails to pay the annual fee in accordance with the deadline. If the annual fee is stipulated to be paid (excluding the annual fee for the year when the patent right is granted) or the amount paid is insufficient, the patent administration department shall notify the patentee to make up the payment within six months from the expiration date of the annual fee, and at the same time pay the amount. A late payment fee of 25% of the annual fee for the year shall be imposed; if the fee is not paid upon expiration, the patent right shall be terminated and shall be registered and announced by the patent administration department.

2. The patent right in which the patentee gives up his patent right in a written statement is a civil right. The patentee has the right to obtain this civil right in accordance with the law and also has the right to dispose of it, including giving up this civil right. Under normal circumstances, the patentee should try its best to protect the patent rights, but in some cases, for example, due to the advancement of science and technology and rapid upgrading, the patents it owns have lost the actual value of their existence, or the benefits of patent implementation are inconsistent with If the patentee considers it to be economically uneconomical compared with the annual fees that increase year by year, the patentee will automatically request to give up its patent rights. Once the patentee gives up his patent rights in a written statement before the expiration of the patent term, the patent rights will be terminated and shall be registered and announced by the Patent Administration Department of the State Council. But logically speaking, if the patentee has entered into a patent licensing contract with others to license others to exploit its patent, within the validity period of the contract, if the patentee gives up its patent rights, it must obtain the consent of the licensee, otherwise will harm the interests of the licensee.