What constitutes a material mistake in a patent application publication?

A material mistake in a patent application publication is one that affects the public’s ability to understand the technical disclosure or determine the scope of provisional rights. The MPEP provides specific examples:

• Omission of claims included in the original specification
• Exclusion of part of the specification that supports published claims
• Failure to include originally filed drawings
• For applications filed on or after September 16, 2012, omission of a timely submitted benefit claim to a prior-filed nonprovisional application

The MPEP states: “A material mistake means a mistake that affects the public’s ability to appreciate the technical disclosure of the patent application publication or determine the scope of the provisional rights that an applicant may seek to enforce upon issuance of a patent.“

To learn more:

• material mistake
• patent publication
• technical disclosure
• provisional rights