According to an official notification issued by the Omani Patent Office on June 6, 2011, maintenance fees will be due annually on the anniversary of the local filing date or the PCT international date and will be payable before the granting of the patent. There will be a 6-month grace period for late payment with a surcharge. This decision comes in line with the provisions of Article 12(2) of Industrial Property Rights Law no. 67 of 2008, issued on May 17, 2008.
The new formalities will be effective as of July 2011.
It is also worth noting that the Patent Office is currently preparing the required setup and structure in order to begin accepting patent reinstatement applications in compliance with Article 12 of Law no. 67 of 2008. According to this Article, the Patent Office may accept the payment of any maintenance fee due on a patent after expiration of the patent if, upon petition, the delay in payment of the maintenance fee is shown to the satisfaction of the Patent Office to have been unavoidable or unintentional. Any petition to accept an unintentionally delayed payment of a maintenance fee must be filed within six months after the six-month grace period (within one year from the annuity due date). If the Patent Office accepts payment of the maintenance fee upon petition, the patent shall be considered as not having expired.
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