M P E P

This Manual is published to provide Patent and Trademark Office patent examiners, applicants, attorneys, agents, and representatives of applicants with a reference work on the practices and procedures relative to the prosecution of patent applications before the Patent and Trademark Office. It contains instructions to examiners, as well as other material in the nature of information and interpretation, and outlines the current procedures which the examiners are required or authorized to follow in appropriate cases in the normal examination of a patent application. The Manual does not have the force of law or the force of the Patent Rules of Practice in Title 37, Code of Federal Regulations.

A separate manual entitled "Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure" is published by the Patent and Trademark Office as a reference work for trademark cases.

Examiners will be governed by the applicable statues, the Rules of Practice, decisions, and orders and instructions issued by the Commissioner and the Assistant Commissioners. Orders and Notices still in force which relate to the subject matter included in this Manual are incorporated in the text. Orders and Notices, or portions thereof, relating to the examiners' duties and functions which have been omitted or not incorporated in the text may be considered obsolete. Interference procedure not directly involving the Primary Examiner are not included in this Manual and, therefore, Orders and Notices relating thereto remain in force.

Subsequent changes in practice and other revisions will be incorporated in the form of substitute or additional pages for the Manual.



(To Table of Contents)

Foreword


Introduction 1

100 Secrecy, Access, National Security, and Foreign Filing 100 - 1

200 Types, Cross - Noting, and Status of Application 200 - 1

300 Ownership and Assignment 300 - 1

400 Representative of Inventor or Owner 400 - 1

500 Receipt and Handling of Mail and Papers 500 - 1

600 Parts, Form, and Content of Application 600 - 1

700 Examination of Applications 700 - 1

800 Restriction in Applications Filed Under 35 U.S.C. 111; Double Patenting 800 - 1

900 Prior Art, Classification, Search 900 - 1

1000 Matters Decided by Various Patent and Trademark Office Officials 1000 - 1

1100 Statutory Invention Registration (SIR) 1100 - 1

1200 Appeal 1200 - 1

1300 Allowance and Issue 1300 - 1

1400 Correction of Patents 1400 - 1

1500 Design Patents 1500 - 1

1600 Plant Patents 1600 - 1

1700 Miscellaneous 1700 - 1

1800 Patent Cooperation Treaty 1800 - 1

1900 Protest 1900 - 1

2000 Duty of Disclosure 2000 - 1

2100 Patentability 2100 - 1

2200 Citation of Prior Art and Reexamination of Patents 2200 - 1

2300 Interference Proceedings Under Public Law 98 - 622 2300 - 1

2400 Biotechnology 2400 - 1

2500 Maintenance Fees 2500 - 1

Appendix I Partial List of Trademarks A - 1

Appendix II List of Decisions Cited A - 5

Appendix L Patent Laws L - 1

Appendix R Patent Rules R - 1

Appendix T Patent Cooperation Treaty T - 1

Appendix AI PCT Administrative Instructions Under the PCT AI - 1

Appendix P Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property P - 1

Index I - 1

Introduction