What are patent issuance and maintenance?
After it is shown to the United States Patent and Trademark Office that a proposed invention is new and novel over the prior art, the Patent Office will allow the patent application disclosing and claiming the invention. At this point, an issue fee must be paid for the patent application to mature into a patent. After a patent issues, periodic maintenance fees must be paid to the government to keep the patent active. Design patents do not require maintenance fees.
