§Hoard Ledger
Patent maintenance fee tracking you can see coming
Ledger keeps your portfolio records, public USPTO status, and every 3.5-, 7.5-, and 11.5-year fee window in one place, with grace-period flags and reports for you and your practitioner. Payments and deadlines stay with you.
§ 01Context
The USPTO will not be your docket
Patent maintenance fee tracking sounds simple until a portfolio has 40 patents granted on 40 different dates. Each one has three fee windows, each window has a surcharge-free period and a grace period, and the fee depends on the entity status at the time of payment. Multiply that out and a spreadsheet becomes a liability.
The USPTO is clear about whose job this is: “It is the responsibility of the patentee to ensure maintenance fees and any applicable surcharges are paid timely to prevent expiration of the patent.” It sends a reminder only if a fee is still unpaid when the surcharge-free period ends. It also warns that numerous companies unaffiliated with the USPTO send patent owners solicitations about maintenance requirements. A clean record of what is actually due, and when, is the best defense against both a missed window and a misleading notice.
Ledger does the counting for you and raises a flag well before each window closes. It is the records module of Hoard, and it powers our Portfolio Administration service.
§ 02Illustrative portfolio
A Ledger view
Invented patents, real fee logic: windows open at 3, 7, and 11 years after grant, fall due at 3.5, 7.5, and 11.5 years, and close at the end of a six-month grace period.
Hoard Ledger · Portfolio view · Sample
Window open Grace period Today
Illustrative sample portfolio, shown as of November 1, 2026. Bars show a nominal 20-year term from grant for display only; actual terms are measured from filing and can be adjusted. Ledger is an administrative aid; owners and their practitioners remain responsible for payments and deadlines.
§ 03Overview
What Ledger tracks
Portfolio records
Number, title, family, owner of record, entity status as you report it, practitioner of record, and your own tags for product or business unit.
Public status
Each asset’s status as public USPTO records show it, checked on a set schedule, with every change noted in the record.
Fee windows
Three windows for each utility patent, with surcharge-free dates, due dates, and the fee at your entity status.
Grace-period flags
When a due date passes unpaid, the asset is flagged with the surcharge and the final date of the six-month grace period.
Reports
Upcoming windows, fee forecasts for budgeting, status changes, and a log of keep-or-lapse decisions, on the schedule you choose.
Practitioner coordination
Window notices go to you and your practitioner, and a coordination log records who was told what, and when.
§ 04Context
The fee windows at a glance
Maintenance fees apply to utility patents. Under the USPTO fee schedule effective 19 January 2025, they are:
| Due at | Large entity | Small entity | Micro entity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 years | $2,150 | $860 | $430 |
| 7.5 years | $4,040 | $1,616 | $808 |
| 11.5 years | $8,280 | $3,312 | $1,656 |
Each fee can be paid without surcharge from six months before its due date, at 3, 7, and 11 years after grant. You cannot pay early. A six-month grace period follows each due date, with a surcharge of $540, $216, or $108 for large, small, and micro entities. Design and plant patents need no maintenance fees, so Ledger tracks their status and term instead. To price a specific window, use the maintenance-fee calculator.
§ 05 — Boundaries
What Ledger is not
Ledger is an administrative aid. You and your practitioner remain responsible for payments and deadlines.
- Not a legal docketing system, and not a substitute for your practitioner’s docket.
- We don’t pay fees, file documents, or respond to USPTO correspondence on your behalf.
- We don’t decide whether to keep or lapse a patent. We make sure the decision is made in time, with the facts in front of you.
- Entity status is as you report it. Whether you qualify for small or micro entity status is a question for your practitioner.
If you don’t have a practitioner, we can share a list of independent practitioners to contact. We receive no referral fees.
§ 06Questions
Questions about Hoard Ledger
Something else on your mind? Call (505) 357-5188 or write to info@metadragons.com.
How is Ledger set up?
An analyst loads your portfolio, reconciles it against public USPTO records, and flags discrepancies for you and your practitioner. As part of Portfolio Administration, onboarding takes about 2 weeks.
Does the USPTO not send reminders?
It sends a reminder only if a fee is still unpaid when the surcharge-free period ends, and it states that failure to receive its notices does not shift the burden of monitoring from the patentee to the USPTO.
What happens when a window approaches on a patent we don’t use?
Ledger flags it early, while there is still time to decide. A patent you no longer need may be worth selling before it lapses; see Portfolio Pruning Analytics.
Who on our team can see Ledger?
Access is by invitation, for the named people you approve. Your practitioner can receive notices and reports without needing access to the workspace.
How do we get Ledger?
Ledger is included with Portfolio Administration and available as part of a standalone Hoard subscription, quoted per scope. Request a walkthrough to start.
Keep reading
Where to go next
§Next step
See every window before it opens
Request a walkthrough. We’ll show you how Ledger tracks a portfolio like yours, and what onboarding involves.