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TITLE XVI TAXES AND ANNUAL FEES 160. (1) An applicant or owner of a patent shall pay the taxes set out in the Annex to the present Law and forming an integral part thereof. The Regulations shall be subject to the provisions of Law No. 17/1975 of May 2, 1975, the Law on Taxes and Extrabudgetary Payments of December 26, 1958 [Ley de Tasas y Exacciones Parafiscales], the General Tax Law [Ley General Tributaria] and complementary provisions. (2) Failure to pay within the prescribed period fixed from the date on which the Registry informed the applicant of the omission shall deprive the act payable of all its effects. (3) Where the fee prescribed for dealing with a patent application has not been paid, the application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn. 161. (1) To keep a patent in force, the owner shall pay the annual fees specified in the Annex mentioned in Article 160. (2) The annual fees shall be paid one year in advance during the term of the patent. The date on which the annual fees are due shall be the last day of the month in which the application was filed and the relevant payment shall be made within the prescribed period. (3) Where the annual fee has not been paid at the expiration of the period allowed for payment, the owner may pay the fee and the relevant surcharge within the following six months. (4) The fee to be paid for filing a patent application shall exonerate the applicant from paying the first two installments of the annual fees. 162. (1) Any person who wishes to obtain a patent for his own invention and does not possess the necessary economic means may request that the patent be granted without having to pay fees of any nature. In order to do so, he shall submit, together with his patent application, a declaration stating that the economic means are lacking, supported by the prescribed documentation. (2) Where the possibility offered by the preceding paragraph is allowed, the owner shall not pay any fee during the first three years. During subsequent years, he shall reimburse the amounts remaining unpaid in the prescribed form. The postponement shall be noted in the Patent Register and the responsibility for paying the fees in arrears shall be incumbent on whoever owns the patent.

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