Renewal vs Lapse

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alexis
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Oct 02, 2019 2:25 pm

Renewal vs Lapse

Post by alexis » Wed Oct 02, 2019 2:38 pm

Hello everyone,

I am interested in knowing for each EP where and how many years they have been renewed. I am using the latest version of PATSTAT online.
From what I read, the best way to proxy for the renewal decisions is to look at the fee payment. So more specifically to look at the relevant code ‘PGFP’.

My SQL query for year 1999 is:

Code: Select all

SELECT TOP 10 t1.appln_id, event_code, fee_country, fee_payment_date, fee_renewal_year
FROM tls201_appln t1
JOIN tls231_inpadoc_legal_event t2
ON t1. appln_id = t2.appln_id
WHERE event_code = 'PGFP'
AND appln_filing_year = 1999
ORDER BY t1.appln_id
For example, EP with appln_id = 773 (the first one) was renewed in DE, GB, IT, FR for 16 years.

But now if I look at lapse event with the relevant code ‘PG25’, results are quite different.

Code: Select all

SELECT t1.appln_id, event_code, lapse_country, lapse_date, lapse_text, year(lapse_date)-year(appln_filing_date) as renewal_year
FROM tls201_appln t1
JOIN tls231_inpadoc_legal_event t2
ON t1. appln_id = t2.appln_id
WHERE event_code = 'PG25'
AND t1.appln_id = 773
ORDER BY t1.appln_id
I find now that the patent with appln_id = 773 lapses in NL after 10 years, IT after 16 years, GB after 16 years, DE after 17 years and FR after 16 years. So, NL is not mentioned as a validated country when using ‘PGFP’.

I understand that lapse events are ‘problematic’ because some countries have long period of grace so a lapse event does not mean necessarily that the patent is not in force anymore. Nevertheless, it seems that using only renewal (PGFP) underestimates the territorial scope of many EPs (another example is appln_id = 775 with only 3 country with PGFP and 19 countries with PG25).

What would be the right approach/trade-off to construct the most accurate renewal variable? I would be tempted to combine renewal and lapse to proxy for renewal. For example, I would say that appln_id = 773 was renewed:
In DE, GB, IT, FR for 16 years AND in NL for 10 years.

What is your view on that?

Thank you for all the work you are doing!

Alexis


EPO / PATSTAT Support
Posts: 425
Joined: Thu Feb 22, 2007 5:33 pm
Contact:

Re: Renewal vs Lapse

Post by EPO / PATSTAT Support » Tue Apr 18, 2023 12:15 pm

I would only use the PGFP as a proxy. It under-estimates indeed a couple of countries in very specific situations. AT, GB do not charge renewal fees before year 4,5,6 which means that some applications that were quickly granted will stay under the radar using PGFP. (IT does not charge the renewal fee before year 5, but earlier PGFP records will be available based on the fact that the applicant has filed the IT translation with the IT npo.
Using other indicators such as :
or (event_code = 'FG4D' and event_auth = 'GB')
or (event_code = 'REF' and event_auth = 'AT')

tend to over-represent GB and AT because there are no extra costs involved for translations anyway.
And as you mentioned, the (generous) grace times (for some countries) or reinstatements can also be a factor that makes it complex to know the exact status of a patent a national level.

More info:
PATSTAT Support Team
EPO - Vienna
patstat @ epo.org


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