What are the time limitations for submitting a protest in a patent application?

There are specific time limitations for submitting a protest in a patent application:

• For unpublished applications, the protest must be submitted prior to the date the application was published or the mailing of a notice of allowance, whichever occurs first.
• For published applications, the protest must be submitted prior to the mailing of a notice of allowance.

As stated in MPEP 1901.03: “A protest submitted after the mailing of a notice of allowance will not be entered and will be returned.” It’s crucial to submit the protest within these time frames to ensure it’s considered by the USPTO.

To learn more:

• protest submission
• time limitations
• patent application
• notice of allowance