What is patent family information and how can examiners access it?

Patent family information refers to related patent documents that share a common priority. According to MPEP 901.07, examiners at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office can access this information through:

• Commercial databases
• Automated search tools like EAST and WEST
• Search services provided by the Scientific and Technical Information Center (STIC)
• The Common Citation Document website via the Examiner’s Toolkit

The MPEP states: Patent family information is available at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (Office) primarily through commercial databases.

To learn more:

• patent family
• patent databases
• patent examination
• USPTO resources