What is a Statutory Invention Registration (SIR)?

A Statutory Invention Registration (SIR) is a defensive publication that provides some of the benefits of a patent without granting enforceable rights. As stated in the MPEP, A statutory invention registration is not a patent. It has the defensive attributes of a patent but does not have the enforceable attributes of a patent.

SIRs are published and can be used as prior art, but they do not grant the holder the right to exclude others from making, using, or selling the invention.

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Tags: defensive publication, prior art, sir, Statutory Invention Registration