What actions are considered “disposals” in patent examination?
In patent examination, certain actions are considered “disposals” and are credited to examiners. According to MPEP 1705, the following actions are counted as disposals:
- Allowance
- Abandonment
- Requests for Continued Examination
- Examiner’s Answer
- International Preliminary Examination Report
- Institution of an interference or derivation proceeding (under specific conditions)
The MPEP states: “These same items constitute the ‘disposals’ for performance evaluation of examining art units and TCs. However, disposals at the Office level consist only of allowances and abandonments.”
It’s important to note that while these actions are considered disposals for evaluating examiner and art unit performance, only allowances and abandonments are counted as disposals at the overall USPTO Office level.
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