I am interested in a particular US patent which issued in 1989.  When
I called the United States Patent and Trademarks Office's (USPTO)
automated response system (703-308-5036 or -5037), I was informed that
there is no information regarding maintenance fees.  (Typically, the
recording for a patent indicates that, for example, its 4, 8, and 12
year fees were paid on such-and-such dates.)
I pressed '0#' to speak to an operator, who told me that the lack of
info re maintenance fees means that no maintenance fees were ever
paid.
As such:
(a) Is it possible for the patent, which presumably was considered
abandoned/expired, to be revived?  (Need MPEP citation or
reputable-looking article.)
(b) If so, how can I find out whether such a process has happened for
this patent? (e.g., through www.uspto.gov, or www.delphion.com, where
I happen to have an account). Is it possible after all this time for a
revival of the patent to be in process and for this fact to still be
confidential?  Do "reissue" patents have anything to do with this?
Thanks.

Hi,
I just checked this site
[http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/dapp/petitionspractice.html]
and found that :
1. Yes, it is possible for the patent which got expired, to be
revived.

According to the Office of the Deputy Commissioner for Patent
Examination Policy,
"Payment of maintenance fees after expiration of the patent will be
accepted and the patent will be reinstated as if it had never expired,
provided the following are filed:

  (1)  Petition under 37 CFR 1.378(c) filed within 24 months after the
six- month grace period signed by registered attorney or party in
interest as outlined at 37 CFR 1.378(d).
  (2)  Maintenance fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.20 (e)-(g). 
  (3)  Surcharge set forth in 37 CFR 1.20(i)(2). 
  (4)  A statement that the delay in payment of the maintenance fee
was unintentional. "
You can get more details about these terms and the forms from this
site:
http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/dapp/petitionspractice.html

2. To find out about whether any process has been initiated for your
patent, I'm giving you a link
[http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/dapp/pacmain.html#GPI] which
lists several contact numbers where you can inquire about your patent.
I checked out and found that the number you tried is not in any of
these lists.
Also, I found this in their FAQs:

"Most patent applications filed on or after November 29, 2000 will be
published eighteen months after the filing date of the application, or
any earlier filing date relied upon under title 35, United States
Code. Otherwise, all patent applications are maintained in the
strictest confidence until the patent is issued or the application is
published. After the application has been published, however, a member
of the public may request a copy of the application file. After the
patent is issued, the Office file containing the application and all
correspondence leading up to issuance of the patent is made available
in the Files Information Unit for inspection by anyone and copies of
these files may be purchased from the Office."
http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/doc/general/faq.htm#a2

So, if you can see your patent published than that means that the
maintenence fees was paid and it's revived. But if you don't see it
published, you can call them to know the status.

You can Call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 703-308-4357 for
assistance from Customer Service Representatives and/or access to the
automated information message system. You can also inquire via mail on
this address:

    General Information Services Division
    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
    Crystal Plaza 3, Room 2C02
    Washington, DC 20231

Regarding the checking the status with your patent using online
system, this is what I found at the
[http://www.uspto.gov/expwd/expform.htm] site:
"At this time, the PTO Web Site does not permit a requester to verify
the status of a patent with regard to the payment of patent
maintenance fees"
So, you need to call them to find the status.

I hope this answers your question. Feel free to ask for clarification.

Regards,
netcrazy

---

Request for Answer Clarification by dan89-ga on 22 May 2002 22:12 PDT

Thanks for answering so soon.  The first piece of law you cited is
only good within 24 months of the 6-month grace period.  The patent
I'm interested in (issued in 1989) is far past this period.  Thus, I
can't tell from your answer whether the patent is irrevocably expired.
 (Let's assume that no case can be made by the patentee for
unintentional or unavoidable delay, as it's been years and years.)

---

Clarification of Answer by netcrazy-ga on 23 May 2002 12:27 PDT

Apologies for my mistake. Instead of giving you the answer in
Clarification, I posted it in Comments. Here is my clarification:

I tried calling to the 800 number given above in my answer and
selected 0 for customer representative for General Patent Inquiries. I
was able to get hold of the representative. So you can also give a
call to this number and I'm sure that you'll get the more accurate
answer from them only.
Let me know if, still this is a query for you. 
Thanks 
netcrazy

Thanks, netcrazy.
Dan89

I tried calling to the 800 number given above in my answer and
selected 0 for customer representative for General Patent Inquiries. I
was able to get hold of the representative. So you can also give a
call to this number and I'm sure that you'll get the more accurate
answer from them only.
Let me know if, still this is a query for you.
Thanks
netcrazy