Practice question
A registrant otherwise satisfies all renewal and maintenance requirements but files a renewal request four months after its ten-year registration expires and pays the prescribed additional fee. It is told that section 146.2 categorically permits filing only before expiry. Which answer is best?
- Section 146.2 permits the stated six-month post-expiry window with the additional fee, so that categorical objection is wrong.
- Any post-expiry request is necessarily prohibited.
- The certificate automatically restarts without any request.
- Only a patent assignee may seek renewal.
- The request automatically creates a new twenty-year patent.
Legal references
- Intellectual Property Code, RA 8293, sections 122, 138, 145–146 and 159.1, https://lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra1997/ra_8293_1997.html
- Zuneca Pharmaceutical v. Natrapharm, G.R. No. 211850, 8 September 2020, main decision, https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocs/1/66500
- IPOPHL, trademark maintenance guidance, https://www.ipophil.gov.ph/trademark/trademark-maintenance/
Answer this question in flashcards to review your response and continue practicing.