Restoration of rights procedure in Belgium

During the IPObel authorization process or after the patent is granted, if the time limit specified in the patent application process is not followed, the patent application or the authorized patent right may be lost. For example:

• Fee payment deadline (application fee, search fee, annuity, etc.)
• Various requests in patent application procedures
• The priority document is not submitted as required or the description is missing

For most terms in a Belgian patent application, it is possible to restore these rights through a restoration procedure.

The request for reinstatement must be submitted to IPObel by the following deadlines:

• within 2 months after the impediment has been removed (e.g. the person who must perform the act is temporarily incapacitated, which prevents them from complying with the time limit: the 2-month period starts to run from the moment they return to work and notice that the time limit has expired); or 12 months after the expiration of the period of non-performance.
• Therefore, under normal circumstances, the time limit for restoring rights is generally within 12 months after the missed deadline, and no later than 12 months. The overdue period for annual fees will be calculated from the expiration of the overdue period.
• At the same time, the right holder must implement and make up for the omissions or delays. Usually, the omissions must be made up at the same time as the request to restore the tree species.
• The request for reinstatement must state the reasons for non-compliance with the time limit. General explanations are not sufficient: the right holder must specifically and clearly set out the specific facts when the action was not completed. Evidence supporting the stated reasons may be submitted within 2 months of filing the request for reinstatement.
• The right holder must be able to prove that he exercised due care to comply with the time limit. Due care is a criterion under European patent law. IPOble must make this assessment based on the circumstances before the expiration of the time limit. All due care required in this case must be understood as all due care that a reasonably competent patent holder or agent would have exercised in the circumstances. When examining a request for restoration of patent rights, IPOble verifies whether special circumstances have arisen or whether individual errors have occurred in the normal satisfactory monitoring system that could lead to the restoration of rights.
• IPObel will process a request for reinstatement of rights only after the required fees have been paid. Both the request for reinstatement and IPObel's decision will be recorded in the register, after which the request for reinstatement of rights will be analyzed and a decision will be made. A request for reinstatement of rights is not automatically granted.
• When the request for restoration of rights is granted, the patent right will be deemed to have never expired. In this case, any fees that may have been due during the period from the date of loss of rights to the date of registration of the restoration decision in the register must be paid within 4 months. For third parties who used the invention during the period of patent expiration, anyone who used the patented invention in Belgium in good faith or took the necessary measures to do so from the expiration of rights until the restoration of rights takes effect can continue to use the invention for their business needs. This right of use can only be transferred with the company to which it belongs.

Restoration of rights request fee, official fee: EUR 350, payable at the same time as the restoration of rights request.