XNUMX. XNUMX.Introduction

　In the past, I received a request for an invalid document search for an application that had just been granted a patent, and when I tried to start the search, the progress information on J-PlatPat was not updated even after 30 days or more had passed since the grant of a patent. There was a time when I hesitated as to whether I should proceed with the search because I did not know whether the payment had been made.Therefore, we investigated the possible cases in this case.

XNUMX.principle

　A patent right does not come into effect just by receiving a grant of a patent, and in order to obtain a patent, it is necessary to pay the patent fee within 30 days from the date of delivery of the certified copy of the grant of patent (Article 108, Paragraph 1 of the Patent Act). .
　After the patent fee payment procedure is completed, the J-PlatPat "progress information inquiry" will be reflected the next day after the patent office completes processing (*1). Only after the information is reflected in J-PlatPat will a third party be able to ascertain whether or not the registration procedure for the application of interest has been carried out.
　On the other hand, if the patent fee is not paid, the application will be dismissed (Article 18, Paragraph 1 of the Patent Law).

XNUMX.possible case

XNUMX Cases of forgetting to pay the registration fee

　First, there may be cases where the applicant forgot to pay the registration fee, and 30 days or more have passed since the grant of a patent.Under the current operation of the Patent Office, in this case, instead of immediately rejecting the application, the Patent Office will send a notice (postcard) stating that the patent (registration) fee has not been paid (*2).If you want to obtain a right, you can register it by paying the patent fee.

XNUMX Cases where the applicant does not want to obtain rights

　Another possible case is that the applicant did not want to obtain the right and did not pay the registration fee.In this case, the application will be dismissed (Article 18, Paragraph 1 of the Patent Law).The disposition of dismissal of the application is made after the notice (postcard) that "the patent (registration) fee has not been paid" described in Case XNUMX. can be grasped by J-PlatPat after a considerable amount of time has passed since the grant of a patent.

　By the way, as a result of looking at 60 cases that were rejected, the result is shown in the graph below.The graph below shows 2022 randomly selected applications that were rejected during the period from July 7, 1 to December 2022, 12.As a result, the period from grant of patent to rejection of the application was more than 31 months, with an average of 60 months.Under the Patent Law, it is stipulated that it should be within 3 days from the date of delivery of the certified copy of the decision to grant a patent, but in reality, it seems that the payment of the establishment registration fee is delayed for a considerable period of time.

XNUMX Cases where request for extension of period is made

　In addition, there may be cases where the applicant has requested an extension of the payment deadline for up to 30 days (Article 108, Paragraph 30 of the Patent Law).When requesting an extension, it is necessary to submit a "Request for Extension of Term" within 3 days from the date of service of the certified copy of the examiner's decision to the effect that a patent (registration) should be granted or the trial decision (*XNUMX).
　J-PlatPat can be used to confirm whether or not a "Request for Extension of Period" has been submitted, so third parties can predict that the registration procedure for the application of interest will be carried out.

XNUMX Cases with grounds of irresponsibility

　In addition, there may be cases where payment procedures are delayed due to irresponsible reasons.If there is a reason for non-responsibility, payment can be made within 14 days after the procedure becomes possible and within 6 months after the prescribed period has passed (Article 108, Paragraph 4 of the Patent Law).
　For example, the JPO has announced that even if procedures cannot be completed within the specified period due to the effects of the novel coronavirus infection, it can be recognized as a reason for irresponsibility (*4).

5 Cases subject to blanket payment (*XNUMX)

　Finally, there may be cases that are subject to a blanket payment.The comprehensive payment system is a system that automatically collects patent fees from the advance payment ledger or bank account upon prior request and automatically registers the setting.
　In the case of comprehensive payment, a third party can confirm with J-PlatPat after 30 days or more have passed since the grant of a patent.This is because the patent fee is withdrawn from the bank account, etc. 30 days after the patent decision is sent, and after the withdrawal, the registration fee payment date is recorded retroactively to the date 13 days after the patent decision is sent. Thing.

XNUMX.in conclusion

　The above case corresponds to an application subject to comprehensive payment in Case XNUMX.
In the case of comprehensive payment, as mentioned above, a third party will not be able to ascertain on J-PlatPat whether or not the registration procedure for the application of interest has been carried out after 30 days or more have passed since the grant of a patent.In my experience, J-PlatPat confirmed that more than 40 days had passed since the grant of a patent.This is probably due to the fact that the withdrawal date from the account of the financial institution, etc., falls on a weekend or holiday, or that it takes several days for confirmation procedures after the withdrawal.

　In this way, it is difficult to quickly confirm the comprehensive payment on J-PlatPat after 30 days have passed since the grant of a patent, which is the date of withdrawal from the bank account. By inspection, third parties may be able to infer whether or not the noted application will be registered without waiting for J-PlatPat's progress information to be updated.
　For example, if you check the application number etc. of the application that has been registered in another case of the applicant of the noted application, there is a patent fee payment statement (comprehensive payment) displayed in the registration record column of the progress record of J-PlatPat. Check to see if there are any.If the patent fee payment slip (comprehensive payment) is displayed, you will know that it was subject to comprehensive payment.If the notation of the applicant and agent of another case that was the target of the blanket payment completely matches the notation of the applicant and agent of the noted application, there is a possibility that the noted application is subject to the blanket payment. can be inferred that there is

　Here, the identification method (*5) of whether or not the application is subject to blanket payment depends on which of the following A to C the applicant, etc. selected in the application for blanket payment. Not all applications are subject to comprehensive payment.However, in the case of A, both B and C are applicable, so even if the specified method of the application subject to the comprehensive payment is B or C, it can be subject to the comprehensive payment, and the above assumption is possible.However, since it is possible to individually exclude applications that are subject to comprehensive payment from being subject to comprehensive payment (*5), there is a possibility that they are excluded from being subject to comprehensive payment.

A.Specify the application by the specific applicant and the specific agent
B. Identify the application only by the specific applicant　
C. Identify the application with only a specific agent

　After all, among Cases 30 to XNUMX, in Case XNUMX (case where extension of time limit is requested) and Case XNUMX (case where blanket payment is made), the applicant of the noted application It seems possible to predict within XNUMX days of granting a patent whether or not there is an intention to obtain a patent. Cases where people do not want rights) and Cases XNUMX and XNUMX (cases where there are reasons for irresponsibility), it seems that there is no choice but to check frequently.

Research Division Ebina

Reference URL
*1:https://www.j-platpat.inpit.go.jp/c0500
　　FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions and Answers)/Select from Services/Progress Information
*2:https://www.jpo.go.jp/system/process/toroku/settei_nagare.html
*3:https://www.jpo.go.jp/system/process/toroku/noufu_kikanencho_seikyusho.html
*4:https://www.jpo.go.jp/news/koho/info/covid19_tetsuzuki_eikyo.html
*5:https://www.jpo.go.jp/system/process/tesuryo/nohu/houkatunouhu.html