What is the deadline for submitting a protest against a patent application?

According to MPEP 1901.04, a protest is considered timely if it meets one of two conditions:

• It is filed before the application is published under 37 CFR 1.211 or before a notice of allowance under 37 CFR 1.311 is given or mailed, whichever occurs first.
• It is accompanied by written consent from the applicant and filed before a notice of allowance under 37 CFR 1.311 is given or mailed.

The MPEP states: “Pursuant to 37 CFR 1.291(b), a protest is timely if (1) filed prior to the date the application was published under 37 CFR 1.211 or the date a notice of allowance under 37 CFR 1.311 was given or mailed, whichever occurs first, or (2) accompanied by written consent of the applicant and filed prior to the date a notice of allowance under 37 CFR 1.311 was given or mailed in the application.“

To learn more:

• protest deadline
• patent application
• timely submission
• publication
• notice of allowance