What is the difference in handling protests for original and reissue applications?

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.

The main difference in handling protests for original and reissue applications lies in their accessibility to the public. MPEP 1901.05 outlines this distinction:

• Original applications: These are kept confidential unless published or made available under specific conditions.
• Reissue applications: As stated in the MPEP, “Reissue applications filed on, or after, March 1, 1977 are pursuant to 37 CFR 1.11(b) ‘open to inspection by the public.’”

This means that while information about protests in original applications is generally not accessible to the public, protests in reissue applications are part of the publicly available file.