What happens to foreign priority information when a patent is reissued?

When a patent is reissued, the foreign priority information from the original patent is not automatically carried forward to the reissue patent. This is an important point for both applicants and examiners to note.

According to MPEP 1417: “The examiner should note that foreign priority information on the front page of the patent will not be carried forward to the reissue from the original patent.”

Therefore, it’s crucial to ensure that the bibliographic data (bib-data) sheet in the reissue application accurately lists:

• The application number
• Country (or intellectual property authority)
• Day, month, and year of each foreign application claiming priority

If there’s a discrepancy between the bib-data sheet and the front page of the original patent, the examiner will notify the applicant and advise them to take corrective action, such as requesting a corrected filing receipt or filing an application data sheet in accordance with 37 CFR 1.76(c).

To learn more:

• foreign priority
• reissue patent
• bibliographic data
• patent examination