Renewal fee falling due between the grant of the European patent and the registration of unitary effect (Rule 13(5) UPR)
100Once the EPO has finally notified the patent proprietor of the decision to register unitary effect, the Unitary Patent takes effect on the date of publication of the mention of the grant of the European patent in the European Patent Bulletin in accordance with Article 4(1) Regulation (EU) No 1257/2012.
101Owing to this retroactive effect (see Recital 8 Regulation (EU) No 1257/2012), renewal fees may have fallen due for the period starting on the date of publication of the mention of the grant of the European patent in the European Patent Bulletin up to and including the date of the notification of the communication referred to in Rule 7(1) UPR.
102To accommodate such cases, Rule 13(5) UPR shifts the due date to the date of the notification and allows renewal fees to be paid within three months of this notification without any additional fee. If they are not paid within this period of three months, Rule 13(3) UPR applies, i.e. the renewal fee(s) can still be paid with an additional fee within six months, starting from the date of notification of the communication referred to in Rule 7(1) UPR.
