Manual of Patent Examining Procedure

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The Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP) is published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for use by patent attorneys and agents and patent examiners. It describes all of the laws and regulations that must be followed in the examination of U.S. patent applications, and articulates their application to an enormous variety of different situations. The MPEP is based on Title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations, which derives its authority from Title 35 of the United States Code, as well as on case law arising under those titles. The origins of the Manual date back to a 1920 Patent and Trademark Office Society publication known as the "Wolcott Manual". "One of the most fruitful endeavors of the [Patent and Trademark Office] Society in the area of education was the publication of the first Manual of Patent Office Procedure. The first Manual was written by two employees of the Office and was published in 1920 by the Society. This Manual, with its eight revisions, often referred to as Wolcott's Manual, was the only procedural manual available until 1949 when the Patent Office assumed the publication of the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure." [1]

Contents

The MPEP is used extensively by patent attorneys, agents, and examiners to help make sure the proper USPTO regulations are followed. The USPTO registration examination tests knowledge of the MPEP and the underlying laws and regulations.

The MPEP is available in both PDF and HTML versions. [2] The current version of the MPEP is the 9th Edition, which was released in March 2014. The MPEP has traditionally been available in paper form, but electronic versions are now used more often, particularly because an applicant only may consult the electronic versions while taking the USPTO registration examination, or the patent bar examination. As of March, 2014 the patent bar examination tests the 9th Edition. [3]

The MPEP provides guidance to members of the public on how to present persuasive arguments to a patent examiner as to why a patent should be granted on a given patent application. See in particular Chapter 2100 on patentability.

Contents

The MPEP comprises the following chapters:

Replications

Many third parties have replicated the MPEP in electronic form.

Commercial replications

Commercial replications, that is, those that require a fee/subscription service to access the MPEP include, an iPhone App called, LawStack MPEP [4] (provides free trial), and an e-Book version provided by Thomson Reuters. [5]

Non-commercial replications

Non-commercial replications, that is, those that are provided freely without any fees or charges, include one provided by Tysver Beck Evans LLP [6] and a searchable replication provided by Chhabra Law. [7] The USPTO also provides a searchable replication on its website. [8]

See also

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Prior art is a concept in patent law used to determine the patentability of an invention, in particular whether an invention meets the novelty and the inventive step or non-obviousness criteria for patentability. In most systems of patent law, prior art is generally defined as anything that is made available, or disclosed, to the public that might be relevant to a patent's claim before the effective filing date of a patent application for an invention. However, notable differences exist in how prior art is specifically defined under different national, regional, and international patent systems.

A patent attorney is an attorney who has the specialized qualifications necessary for representing clients in obtaining patents and acting in all matters and procedures relating to patent law and practice, such as filing patent applications and oppositions to granted patents.

Within the context of a national or multilateral body of law, an invention is patentable if it meets the relevant legal conditions to be granted a patent. By extension, patentability also refers to the substantive conditions that must be met for a patent to be held valid.

Under United States patent law, a continuing patent application is a patent application that follows, and claims priority to, an earlier-filed patent application. A continuing patent application may be one of three types: a continuation, divisional, or continuation-in-part. Although continuation and continuation-in-part applications are generally available in the U.S. only, divisional patent applications are also available in other countries, as such availability is required under Article 4G of the Paris Convention.

Patent prosecution describes the interaction between applicants and their representatives, and a patent office with regard to a patent, or an application for a patent. Broadly, patent prosecution can be split into pre-grant prosecution, which involves arguing before, and sometimes negotiation with, a patent office for the grant of a patent, and post-grant prosecution, which involves issues such as post-grant amendment and opposition.

In most patent laws, unity of invention is a formal administrative requirement that must be met for a patent application to proceed to grant. An issued patent can claim only one invention or a group of closely related inventions. The purpose of this requirement is administrative as well as financial. The requirement serves to preclude the possibility of filing one patent application for several inventions, while paying only one set of fees. Unity of invention also makes the classification of patent documents easier.

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The Trademark Official Gazette(TMOG) is a weekly publication of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) which publishes newly registered trademarks. Once a trademark application has been examined by a USPTO examining attorney and found to be entitled to registration, it is published in the Official Gazette of the USPTO.

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In United States patent law, a reexamination is a process whereby anyone—third party or inventor—can have a U.S. patent reexamined by a patent examiner to verify that the subject matter it claims is patentable. To have a patent reexamined, an interested party must submit prior art, in the form of patents or printed publications, that raises a "substantial new question of patentability". The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act makes substantial changes to the U.S. patent system, including new mechanisms for challenging patents at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. One of the new mechanisms is a post-grant review proceeding, which will provide patent challengers expanded bases on which to attack patents.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Defensive Publication</span>

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Title 35 of the United States Code is a title of United States Code regarding patent law. The sections of Title 35 govern all aspects of patent law in the United States. There are currently 37 chapters, which include 376 sections, in Title 35.

The Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (TMEP) is a manual published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for use by trademark attorneys and trademark examiners. It describes all of the laws and regulations that must be followed in order to apply for and maintain a trademark in the United States. It includes explanations of the trademark application and examination process, the various types of trademarks, the Madrid Protocol, and proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.

The Guidelines for Examination in the European Patent Office are general instructions, for the examiners working at the European Patent Office (EPO) as well as for the parties interacting with the EPO, on the practice and procedure at the EPO in the various aspects of the prosecution of European patent applications and European patents. The Guidelines have been adopted, effective as at 1 June 1978, by the President of the EPO in accordance with Article 10(2)(a) EPC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">H.R. 5108 (113th Congress)</span>

The bill H.R. 5108 would establish the Law School Clinic Certification Program of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to be available to accredited law schools for the 10-year period after enactment of this Act.

References

  1. ↑ ".:: Patent & Trademark Office Society ::. - About PTOS". www.ptos.org. Retrieved 2024-08-13.
  2. ↑ "Manual of Patent Examining Procedure".
  3. ↑ "The Registration Examination (See Source Materials for the Registration Examination.)".
  4. ↑ "Manual of Patent Examining Proc. (LawStack MPEP) en App Store". iTunes .
  5. ↑ "Manual of Patent Examining Procedure, 9th".
  6. ↑ "MPEP - Manual of Patent Examining Procedure".
  7. ↑ "Search The Manual of Patent Examining Procedure".
  8. ↑ "MPEP".
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