Patent annual fee payment for non-residents

Please Note:

The JPO cannot accept direct payments from non-residents for any fees connected with utility models, designs, and trademarks.

• Please be sure that the right you are renewing is a patent right.

You are responsible for all bank charges.

• Please clearly instruct your bank that you are to pay for all bank charges, as the JPO will not pay for any bank charges incurred.
• The ability of non-resident patent-right holders to make direct payments is the result of an amendment made to the Patent Law of Japan that came into force on April 1, 2016. Based on the revision, now non-resident patent-right holders can remit their annual patent-renewal fees directly from abroad.
• If you wish to maintain your patent right, you need to renew your patent right on the 4th year after it was registered. (The first three years of annual patent fees were paid at the time you had your patent registered.). Starting from the 4th year, and each subsequent year after, you need to submit the payment form and pay the annual patent fee by the deadline stated in the documents enclosed with the registration certificate that was sent to you when your patent right was registered.
• In the past, patent-right holders residing outside of Japan had to appoint representatives such as patent attorneys to handle the payment of the annual patent-fee renewals, as non-resident right-holders could not make payments directly to the JPO. However, after the above-stated revision came into effect in April 2016, non-resident right-holders are now able to make payments directly to the JPO without the need to appoint a representative.
• Please be aware that the JPO cannot accept direct payments if the patent fees are in arrears (late).
  * If you don’t pay the annual patent fee for any particular year within the deadline, you can pay a late payment penalty that is double the annual patent fee, as long as you pay it no later than six months after the original deadline to pay has expired.

1. Please note below before you being the payment process.

• In case the JPO finds some errors on your payment form, or finds that you didn’t pay the full amount due, or finds reasons why direct payment cannot be accepted, the JPO will send you a notice to that effect.. Once you receive the notice, you must have your representative make the payment on your behalf.
• For anyone who regularly does business with us, we advise them that it may be easier to continue to have your Japanese agent make payments on your behalf, as they will help you through the payment process.
• You need to submit your payment form to the JPO by postal mail service only. You cannot send it to the JPO through online services or by fax due to current stipulations in the Patent Law of Japan.
• The JPO cannot accept any payments by credit card, debit card and/or direct debit services.

2. Payment form

Please use the following form when you pay the annual patent-renewal fee.

• Payment Form (Bank account transfer) (PDF:174KB)
• Payment Form (Patent revenue stamps) (PDF:120KB)

Please fill out this form online and print it out. (Please do not write it by your own hand in pen, in order to avoid unnecessary errors.)

Notes:

• Before sending the form by postal mail service, please make sure to double check that there are no errors on your payment form.

3. Mailing address

Please send the payment form to the following address:

• Japan Patent Office
• 3-4-3 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku Tokyo 100-8915, Japan

The JPO accepts payment forms sent from overseas only by postal mail services.

4. Amount of annual patent renewal fees

Please see the “Schedule of fees”

5. Date of payment acceptance

The JPO will deem that the acceptance date of any payments sent from overseas (outside Japan) will be the date on which the payment form arrived at the JPO. Please keep this in mind when sending payments by mail, especially making sure to account for the time needed for the payment to arrive in time to meet the deadline.

6. How to pay us

There are two methods you can use to make payment to the JPO.

• 1) Paying into a Japanese government Account (direct payment):
  When paying into a Japanese government account, you have to pay the annual fee through a bank by first filling out the prescribed form at your bank. Fee-payable forms must be accompanied with a completed payment form.

Notes:

You are responsible for all bank charges incurred when making payments. Please clearly instruct your bank that all bank charges both sending and receiving are to be covered by you.

Please note that the JPO will not pay for bank charges under any circumstances. In the event that the JPO is charged, you will be notified to pay the balance due, bearing all bank charges again.

The fees are required to be paid in Japanese yen by bank transfer to the following bank account.

Please do not forget to submit the payment form (PDF:174KB) to the JPO after you have paid the fees into the Japanese government account.

Detail of our account

Beneficiary Bank	SUMITOMO MITSUI BANKING CORPORATION（SWIFT Code：SMBC JP JT）
Branch Name	TOKYO PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS OPERATIONS OFFICE
Beneficiary Bank’s Address	6-12 TORANOMON 1-CHOME MINATO-KU TOKYO JAPAN 105-0001
Beneficiary Name	JAPAN PATENT OFFICE
Beneficiary Account Number	ACCOUNT　NO.096-174621
Beneficiary Address	3-4-3 KASUMIGASEKI CHIYODA-KU TOKYO JAPAN 100-8915
Note	Please indicate the following: -  Patent Registration Number -  Payer’s name and address Reason for payment: (annual patent renewal fee, etc.)

• 2) Paying by Patent Revenue Stamps Purchased in Japan:
  You have to affix patent revenue stamps in the correct amount on your payment form, and submit the form to the JPO through the postal mail service.

  Patent revenue stamps can be purchased at post offices in Japan.

Notes:

• The JPO does not accept payments by e-mail or fax.
• Please note that you have to submit a payment form regardless of your method of payment.
• You may not pay annual patent renewal fees for more than one patent at a time on one payment form.

7. After you pay

• When the JPO accepts your payment form:
  You will be sent a receipt with your patent number and the date you paid written on it.
• When the JPO finds any errors on your payment form:
  In this situation, you will be required to hire a representative domiciled in Japan, who will have to take care of making the payment on your behalf. You cannot proceed on your own to pay the JPO directly after you have received a notice to correct the payment or a notice of a reason for dismissal. The representative has to take charge of handling the payment.

If the patent fees were paid in error, or if they exceeded the amount required to be paid, or if the payment of patent fees is to be dismissed, the JPO will send a refund to you only upon receiving a request to that effect from your representative domiciled in Japan. However, such requests must be made within one year from the date on which the payment was, and as stated above, must be made through your representative domiciled in Japan.

8. FAQ

Please refer “Patent annual fee payment for non-residents (FAQs)”

[Last updated 13 April 2021]

Contact

Registration Office Customer Relations Policy Division Japan Patent Office E-mail:PA1300@jpo.go.jp