What is the requirement for commercial success evidence in patent applications?
Source: FAQ (MPEP-Based)BlueIron Update: 2024-09-10
This page is an FAQ based on guidance from the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure. It is provided as guidance, with links to the ground truth sources. This is information only: it is not legal advice.
Commercial success evidence must be commensurate in scope with the claims of the patent application. This means that the evidence of commercial success should be directly related to the claimed features of the invention, not unclaimed features.
As stated in MPEP 716.03(a): “Objective evidence of nonobviousness including commercial success must be commensurate in scope with the claims.” This requirement ensures that the commercial success is attributable to the specific invention as claimed, rather than other factors.