What are the main reasons for patent application abandonment?
According to MPEP 203.05, there are four main reasons for patent application abandonment:
- Formal abandonment by the applicant or their representative
- Failure of the applicant to take appropriate action during prosecution
- Failure to pay the issue fee
- For provisional applications, the passage of 12 months from the filing date
The MPEP states: An abandoned application is, inter alia, one which is removed from the Office docket of pending applications: (A) through formal abandonment by the applicant or by the attorney or agent of record; (B) through failure of applicant to take appropriate action at some stage in the prosecution of a nonprovisional application; (C) for failure to pay the issue fee (MPEP § 711 to § 711.05); or (D) in the case of a provisional application, no later than 12 months after the filing date of the provisional application
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Topics:
MPEP 200 - Types and Status of Application; Benefit and Priority Claims,
MPEP 203 - Status of Applications,
Patent Law,
Patent Procedure