What is a provisional rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) using provisional prior art under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(e)?

A provisional rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) using provisional prior art under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(e) is a specific type of rejection made in certain patent examination situations. The MPEP explains:

“Where two applications of different inventive entities are copending, not published under 35 U.S.C. 122(b), and the filing dates differ, a provisional rejection under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) based on provisional prior art under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(e) should be made in the later filed application unless the application has been disqualified under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(c).“

This type of rejection is used to alert applicants to potential issues and give them an opportunity to address them before a non-provisional rejection is made.

To learn more:

• provisional rejection
• pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(e)
• 35 U.S.C. 103(a)
• patent examination