Surrender a patent
You can write to us and offer to surrender your patent after it has been granted.
You apply to surrender a patent under section 29 of the Patents Act 1977.
If your patent has not yet been granted you cannot surrender it, but you may choose to withdraw your application.
How to surrender a patent
Use your intellectual property account to surrender a patent. You will need to tell us the patent number. Surrendering a patent is free. There is no form to fill in.
You do not have to give a reason. However, for the patent concerned, you must either declare that there is no relevant infringement or revocation action pending before the courts in the United Kingdom, or give details of any pending infringement or revocation action.
What happens next
Your offer to surrender the patent will be advertised in the patents journal. If no-one opposes the surrender within 4 weeks of the advertisement, the comptroller will publish acceptance of the surrender in the journal, and the patent will cease.
If anyone opposes the surrender, the comptroller will consider the case.
Opposing the surrender of a patent
You can oppose the surrender of a patent by filling in the Notice of opposition to proceedings before the Comptroller (form 15). You must make sure the IPO receives this within 4 weeks of the date that the offer to surrender is published in the patents journal. You must also pay the fee.