Who can submit prior art or written statements to the USPTO for a patent?

According to MPEP 2203, any person can submit prior art or written statements to the USPTO for a patent. The MPEP states:

“Any person” may be a corporate or governmental entity as well as an individual. “Any person” includes patentees, licensees, reexamination requesters, real parties in interest to the patent owner or requester, persons without a real interest, and persons acting for real parties in interest without a need to identify the real party of interest.

This means that individuals, companies, government agencies, and other entities can all submit prior art or written statements, regardless of their relationship to the patent or patent owner.

To learn more:

• prior art
• written statements
• USPTO submissions
• patent law