Also known as: grace periods · cure period
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
2 senses
A contractual period during which a party may cure a late payment or performance without triggering penalties, forfeiture, or acceleration of the full obligation. The period is often set by the agreement or statute and requires timely cure to reinstate the original terms.
A contractual period during which a party may cure a late payment or performance without triggering penalties, forfeiture, or acceleration of the full obligation. The period is often set by the agreement or statute and requires timely cure to reinstate the original terms.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A one-year window following an inventor's public disclosure or certain commercialization activities during which a patent application may still be filed without the disclosure barring patentability.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A one-year window following an inventor's public disclosure or certain commercialization activities during which a patent application may still be filed without the disclosure barring patentability.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
Gino Giordano missed three monthly payments on his mortgage held by Granite Holdings. Granite mailed a notice stating the full balance would accelerate thirty days later. Within that window Gino tendered only the arrears plus fees. Because the cure occurred before acceleration took effect, the mortgage reinstated on its original terms and foreclosure was barred.
Gina Griffin owned an unused mineral interest subject to a state lapse statute. The statute extinguished interests unused for twenty years but gave owners a two-year grace period to file a claim and preserve the interest. Gina recorded her statement of claim before the grace period expired, so her interest remained intact rather than reverting to the surface owner.
Gerald Gibson was named a beneficiary under a will probated in Ohio. The governing instrument imposed a filing deadline for claims against the estate. Gerald submitted his claim after the stated deadline but within an additional statutory grace period. The court accepted the late filing and allowed the claim to proceed on the merits.
Gwen Gallagher inherited an undivided interest in allotted Indian land. A federal statute required heirs to file claims within a set period or lose the interest. Gwen filed her claim after the initial deadline but before the statutory grace period closed. Her filing preserved the interest against automatic escheat to the tribe.
A grace period extends the time to cure only when the mortgage or applicable statute expressly provides one. Cure within the period prevents acceleration and foreclosure. Failure to cure allows the lender to declare the full balance due.
Supporting sources
Yes. In contexts such as mineral lapse statutes or adverse possession disability provisions, failure to act within the grace period extinguishes the interest or bars the claim with no further opportunity to cure.
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Mailing alone may satisfy delivery if the notice is clear and the parties' agreement or statute so provides. Actual receipt is sometimes required before the period begins to run, especially when the notice is inconspicuous or the borrower denies awareness.
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The patent grace period allows an inventor one year after public disclosure to file an application without the disclosure becoming prior art. The contractual version merely postpones penalties for late performance and does not create new substantive rights.
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…the interest out of which it was carved."[^maj-3] The statute, which became effective on September 2, 1971, contained a 2-year grace period in which owners of mineral interests that were then unused and subject to lapse could preserve those interests by filing a claim in the recorder's office.[^maj-4] The "use" of a mineral…