Title 35, PatentsRelease 119-110
§151 Issue of Patent
Title 35 › PART II — PATENTABILITY OF INVENTIONS AND GRANT OF PATENTS › CHAPTER 14 — ISSUE OF PATENT › § 151
Summary
When an application is allowed, the patent office must send a notice naming the amount due (the issue fee plus any required publication fee) to be paid within 3 months; payment lets the patent issue, nonpayment causes abandonment.
Full Legal Text
Title 35, §151
Patents, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)In General.—
If it appears that an applicant is entitled to a patent under the law, a written notice of allowance of the application shall be given or mailed to the applicant. The notice shall specify a sum, constituting the issue fee and any required publication fee, which shall be paid within 3 months thereafter.
(b)Effect of Payment.—
Upon payment of this sum the patent may issue, but if payment is not timely made, the application shall be regarded as abandoned.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Prior Provisions
A prior section 151, act
July 19, 1952, ch. 950, 66 Stat. 803; Pub. L. 89–83, § 4,
July 24, 1965, 79 Stat. 260; Pub. L. 93–601, § 3, Jan. 2, 1975, 88 Stat. 1956; Pub. L. 106–113, div. B, § 1000(a)(9) [title IV, § 4732(a)(10)(A)], Nov. 29, 1999, 113 Stat. 1536, 1501A–582; Pub. L. 107–273, div. C, title III, § 13206(b)(1)(B), Nov. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 1906, related to issue of patent, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 112–211, title II, § 202(b)(6), Dec. 18, 2012, 126 Stat. 1536.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
Section effective on the date that is 1 year after Dec. 18, 2012, applicable to patents issued before, on, or after that date and patent applications pending on or filed after that date, and not effective with respect to patents in litigation commenced before that date, see section 203 of Pub. L. 112–211, set out as a note under section 27 of this title.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
35 U.S.C. § 151
Title 35, Patents
Last Updated
Sep 22, 2026
Release point: 119-110