De-risking patent renewals: Partnering with the global leader in annuity services
Managing annual renewal fees throughout the patent lifecycle is essential for maintaining your IP rights. But varying legal frameworks, fee schedules and payment systems across jurisdictions creates administrative complexity with little room for error. One missed payment could mean forfeiting your valuable rights.
Mitigate risk by partnering with a global leader in patent renewal services. Clarivate pioneered the patent renewals industry in the 1960s and has led the market ever since.
Unmatched renewal scale
Clarivate facilitates the renewal of more than 3.5 million patents annually — approximately 40% of all renewals worldwide — totaling more than $2 billion (USD) in annuity payments each year. More than 10,000 global enterprises entrust their IP portfolios to Clarivate.
As the world’s largest patent services provider, Clarivate offers the advantage of regional offices providing localized services, supported by a global organization. Clients can receive support in their native language and pay in their local currency, with consistency across countries. With more than 5,700 IP professionals and a network of more than 1,500 agents worldwide, Clarivate provides responsive, jurisdiction-specific support.
Reducing risk at every step
How does Clarivate mitigate patent renewal risk? Consider the following:
Certified agents. All agents undergo a rigorous certification process, plus regular audits, performance reviews, fee benchmarking, and legal risk assessments to ensure they continue to meet the highest standards of quality, integrity and value. This is only possible due to Clarivate’s industry-leading scale.
Data quality. Clarivate performs detailed quality checks to ensure data integrity. In 2024, Clarivate performed more than 12 million automated data verifications were performed, correcting more than 500,000 data errors. Most errors are corrected without client interaction. When real discrepancies are found, our team reaches out to the client to resolve them, avoiding potential problems.
Regulatory oversight. A dedicated team of 50+ legal professionals monitors regulatory changes across more than 200 jurisdictions to ensure renewal processes are always up-to-date. This helps avoid errors that could lead to lapses.
Proactive payment. Clarivate pays the annuity fees when they are due, without requiring client prepayment. This avoids the risk of missing deadlines and alleviates cash flow concerns for clients. Even in cases of delayed payments or internal approval issues, Clarivate uses its own resources to prevent potential loss of rights.
This depth of capabilities — spanning data, systems, personnel, capital, and global networks — positions Clarivate not just as a service provider, but as a critical infrastructure partner in the global IP ecosystem.
An essential partner
“We verify tens of millions of data points and execute annuity payments each year to ensure our clients’ patents are protected anytime, anywhere,” said Se-Lim Lee, Head of Intellectual Property, Korea for Clarivate. “With systems in place to cover even client errors, we are more than a service provider — we are a true partner in IP asset protection.”
As companies seek to strengthen their IP-driven competitiveness in global markets, a patent renewal partner that combines operational excellence and value at scale is becoming an essential strategic asset. Clarivate is that partner.
Clarivate patent renewals by the numbers
