MPEP 700 – Examination of Applications

This page consolidates and annotates enforceable requirements under MPEP 700 — Examination of Applications, including statutory authority, regulatory rules, examiner guidance, and practice notes. It is provided as guidance, with links to the ground truth sources. This is information only, it is not legal advice.

Metric	Value	Share of total
Rules extracted	3,736	9.9%
Citations to Authorities	MPEP5,178 USC1,593 CFR4,883 PCT36	9.5%
Avg citations per rule	3.13
Topics covered	428 primary + 607 secondary	42.5%

Pages in this chapter

Page
MPEP § 701 — Statutory Authority for Examination19 rules
MPEP § 702 — Requisites of the Application15 rules
MPEP § 702.01 — Obviously Informal Cases17 rules
MPEP § 704.01 — Search6 rules
MPEP § 704.10 — Requirements for Information8 rules
MPEP § 704.11 — What Information May Be Required13 rules
MPEP § 704.11(a) — Examples of Information Reasonably Required16 rules
MPEP § 704.11(b) — When May a Requirement for Information Be Made14 rules
MPEP § 704.12 — Replies to a Requirement for Information5 rules
MPEP § 704.12(a) — Relationship of Requirement for Information to Duty of Disclosure8 rules
MPEP § 704.12(b) — What Constitutes a Complete Reply5 rules
MPEP § 704.12(c) — Treatment of an Incomplete Reply3 rules
MPEP § 704.13 — Time Periods for Reply4 rules
MPEP § 704.14 — Making a Requirement for Information2 rules
MPEP § 704.14(a) — Format of the Requirement44 rules
MPEP § 704.14(b) — Examiner’s Obligation Following Applicant’s Reply12 rules
MPEP § 704.14(c) — Petitions to Requirements Under 37 CFR 1.1052 rules
MPEP § 704.14(d) — Relationship to Information Disclosure Statements6 rules
MPEP § 705 — Patentability Reports3 rules
MPEP § 705.01 — Instructions re Patentability Reports0 rules
MPEP § 705.01(a) — Nature of P.R., Its Use and Disposal13 rules
MPEP § 705.01(b) — Sequence of Examination3 rules
MPEP § 705.01(c) — Counting and Recording P.R.s2 rules
MPEP § 705.01(e) — Limitation as to Use12 rules
MPEP § 705.01(f) — Interviews With Applicants1 rules
MPEP § 706 — Rejection of Claims18 rules
MPEP § 706.01 — Contrasted With Objections7 rules
MPEP § 706.02 — Rejection on Prior Art8 rules
MPEP § 706.03 — Rejections Not Based on Prior Art11 rules
MPEP § 706.04 — Rejection of Previously Allowed Claims9 rules
MPEP § 706.05 — Rejection After Allowance of Application1 rules
MPEP § 706.06 — Rejection of Claims Copied From Patent5 rules
MPEP § 706.07 — Final Rejection26 rules
MPEP § 706.07(a) — Final Rejection, When Proper on Second Action25 rules
MPEP § 706.07(b) — Final Rejection, When Proper on First Action12 rules
MPEP § 706.07(c) — Final Rejection, Premature1 rules
MPEP § 706.07(d) — Final Rejection, Withdrawal of, Premature5 rules
MPEP § 706.07(e) — Withdrawal of Final Rejection, General11 rules
MPEP § 706.07(f) — Time for Reply to Final Rejection33 rules
MPEP § 706.07(g) — Transitional After-Final Practice50 rules
MPEP § 706.07(h) — Request for Continued Examination (RCE) Practice195 rules
MPEP § 707 — Examiner’s Letter or Action44 rules
MPEP § 707.01 — Primary Examiner Indicates Action for New Assistant6 rules
MPEP § 707.02 — Applications Up for Third Action and 5-Year Applications3 rules
MPEP § 707.05 — Citation of References19 rules
MPEP § 707.05(a) — Copies of Cited References9 rules
MPEP § 707.05(b) — Citation of Related Art and Information by Applicants6 rules
MPEP § 707.05(c) — Order of Listing3 rules
MPEP § 707.05(d) — Reference Cited in Subsequent Actions1 rules
MPEP § 707.05(e) — Data Used in Citing References59 rules
MPEP § 707.05(f) — Non-Patent Documents Having a Lengthy Citation4 rules
MPEP § 707.05(g) — Incorrect Citation of References17 rules
MPEP § 707.06 — Citation of Decisions, Orders Memorandums, and Notices6 rules
MPEP § 707.07 — Completeness and Clarity of Examiner’s Action0 rules
MPEP § 707.07(a) — Complete Action on Formal Matters2 rules
MPEP § 707.07(d) — Language To Be Used in Rejecting Claims12 rules
MPEP § 707.07(e) — Note All Outstanding Requirements3 rules
MPEP § 707.07(f) — Answer All Material Traversed24 rules
MPEP § 707.07(g) — Piecemeal Examination9 rules
MPEP § 707.07(h) — Notify of Inaccuracies in Amendment1 rules
MPEP § 707.07(i) — Each Claim To Be Mentioned in Each Office Action7 rules
MPEP § 707.07(j) — State When Claims Are Allowable11 rules
MPEP § 707.07(k) — Numbering Paragraphs0 rules
MPEP § 707.07(l) — Comment on Examples5 rules
MPEP § 707.08 — Reviewing and Initialing by Assistant Examiner6 rules
MPEP § 707.09 — Signing by Primary or Other Authorized Examiner2 rules
MPEP § 707.10 — Entry0 rules
MPEP § 707.11 — Date1 rules
MPEP § 707.12 — Mailing0 rules
MPEP § 707.13 — Returned Office Action9 rules
MPEP § 708 — Order of Examination10 rules
MPEP § 708.01 — List of Special Cases23 rules
MPEP § 708.02 — Petition To Make Special61 rules
MPEP § 708.02(a) — Accelerated Examination137 rules
MPEP § 708.02(b) — Prioritized Examination100 rules
MPEP § 708.02(c) — Patent Prosecution Highway Program3 rules
MPEP § 708.03 — Examiner Tenders Resignation1 rules
MPEP § 709 — Suspension of Action66 rules
MPEP § 709.01 — Overlapping Applications by Same Applicant or Owned by Same Assignee3 rules
MPEP § 710 — Period for Reply3 rules
MPEP § 710.01 — Statutory Period22 rules
MPEP § 710.01(a) — Statutory Period, How Computed12 rules
MPEP § 710.02 — Shortened Statutory Period and Time Limit Actions Computed14 rules
MPEP § 710.02(b) — Shortened Statutory Period: Situations in Which Used11 rules
MPEP § 710.02(c) — Specified Time Limits: Situations in Which Used11 rules
MPEP § 710.02(d) — Difference Between Shortened Statutory Periods for Reply and Specified Time Limits13 rules
MPEP § 710.02(e) — Extension of Time78 rules
MPEP § 710.04 — Two Periods Running0 rules
MPEP § 710.04(a) — Copying Patent Claims0 rules
MPEP § 710.05 — Period Ending on Saturday, Sunday, or a Federal Holiday15 rules
MPEP § 710.06 — Situations When Reply Period Is Reset or Restarted24 rules
MPEP § 711 — Abandonment of Patent Application12 rules
MPEP § 711.01 — Express or Formal Abandonment50 rules
MPEP § 711.02 — Failure To Take Required Action During Statutory Period11 rules
MPEP § 711.02(a) — Insufficiency of Reply3 rules
MPEP § 711.02(b) — Special Situations Involving Abandonment13 rules
MPEP § 711.02(c) — Termination of Proceedings6 rules
MPEP § 711.03 — Reconsideration of Holding of Abandonment; Revival1 rules
MPEP § 711.03(a) — Holding Based on Insufficiency of Reply2 rules
MPEP § 711.03(b) — Holding Based on Failure To Reply Within Period3 rules
MPEP § 711.03(c) — Petitions Relating to Abandonment240 rules
MPEP § 711.03(d) — Examiner’s Statement on Petition To Set Aside Examiner’s Holding2 rules
MPEP § 711.04 — Public Access to Abandoned Applications7 rules
MPEP § 711.04(a) — Date of Abandonment18 rules
MPEP § 711.04(b) — Ordering of Patented and Abandoned Files2 rules
MPEP § 711.04(c) — Notifying Applicants of Abandonment6 rules
MPEP § 711.05 — Letter of Abandonment Received After Application Is Allowed1 rules
MPEP § 711.06 — Abstracts, Abbreviatures, and Defensive Publications5 rules
MPEP § 711.06(a) — Citation and Use of Abstracts, Abbreviatures, and Defensive Publications as References7 rules
MPEP § 713 — Interviews14 rules
MPEP § 713.01 — General Policy, How Conducted77 rules
MPEP § 713.02 — Interviews Prior to First Official Action5 rules
MPEP § 713.03 — Interview for “Sounding Out” Examiner Not Permitted1 rules
MPEP § 713.04 — Substance of Interview Must Be Made of Record28 rules
MPEP § 713.05 — Interviews Prohibited or Granted, Special Situations18 rules
MPEP § 713.06 — No Inter Partes Questions Discussed Ex Parte1 rules
MPEP § 713.07 — Exposure of Other Cases1 rules
MPEP § 713.08 — Demonstration, Exhibits, Models5 rules
MPEP § 713.09 — Interviews Between Final Rejection and Notice of Appeal6 rules
MPEP § 713.10 — Interview Preceding Filing Amendment Under 37 CFR 1.3125 rules
MPEP § 714 — Amendments, Applicant’s Action212 rules
MPEP § 714.01 — Signatures to Amendments3 rules
MPEP § 714.01(a) — Unsigned or Improperly Signed Amendment4 rules
MPEP § 714.01(c) — Signed by Attorney or Agent Not of Record1 rules
MPEP § 714.01(d) — Amendment Signed by Applicant but Not by Attorney or Agent of Record5 rules
MPEP § 714.01(e) — Amendments Before First Office Action76 rules
MPEP § 714.02 — Must Be Fully Responsive18 rules
MPEP § 714.03 — Amendments Not Fully Responsive, Action To Be Taken32 rules
MPEP § 714.03(a) — Supplemental Amendment22 rules
MPEP § 714.04 — Claims Presented in Amendment With No Attempt To Point Out Patentable Novelty2 rules
MPEP § 714.05 — Examiner Should Immediately Review17 rules
MPEP § 714.07 — Amendments Not in Permanent Ink3 rules
MPEP § 714.10 — Claims Added in Excess of Claims Previously Paid For4 rules
MPEP § 714.12 — Amendments and Other Replies After Final Rejection or Action14 rules
MPEP § 714.13 — Amendments and Other Replies After Final Rejection or Action, Procedure Followed73 rules
MPEP § 714.14 — Amendments After Allowance of All Claims6 rules
MPEP § 714.15 — Amendment Received in Technology Center After Mailing of Notice of Allowance5 rules
MPEP § 714.16 — Amendment After Notice of Allowance, 37 CFR 1.31221 rules
MPEP § 714.16(a) — Amendments Under 37 CFR 1.312, Copied Patent Claims2 rules
MPEP § 714.16(b) — Amendments Under 37 CFR 1.312 Filed With a Motion Under 37 CFR 41.2081 rules
MPEP § 714.16(c) — Amendments Under 37 CFR 1.312, Additional Claims2 rules
MPEP § 714.16(d) — Amendments Under 37 CFR 1.312, Handling27 rules
MPEP § 714.16(e) — Amendments Under 37 CFR 1.312, Entry in Part10 rules
MPEP § 714.17 — Amendment Filed After the Period for Reply Has Expired3 rules
MPEP § 714.18 — Entry of Amendments11 rules
MPEP § 714.19 — List of Amendments, Entry Denied19 rules
MPEP § 714.20 — List of Amendments Entered in Part7 rules
MPEP § 714.21 — Amendments Inadvertently Entered, No Legal Effect2 rules
MPEP § 714.25 — Discourtesy of Applicant or Attorney8 rules
MPEP § 715 — Swearing Behind a Reference — Affidavit or Declaration Under 37 CFR 1.131(a)67 rules
MPEP § 715.01 — 37 CFR 1.131(a) Affidavits Versus 37 CFR 1.132 Affidavits6 rules
MPEP § 715.01(a) — Reference Is a Patent or Published Application Naming Different Inventive Entity With at Least One Common Inventor12 rules
MPEP § 715.01(b) — Reference and Application Have Common Assignee7 rules
MPEP § 715.01(c) — Reference Is Publication of Inventor’s Own Invention15 rules
MPEP § 715.01(d) — Activities Applied Against the Claims5 rules
MPEP § 715.02 — How Much of the Claimed Invention Must Be Shown, Including the General Rule as to Generic Claims18 rules
MPEP § 715.03 — Genus-Species, Practice Relative to Cases Where Predictability Is in Question26 rules
MPEP § 715.04 — Who May Make Affidavit or Declaration Under 37 CFR 1.131(a); Formal Requirements of Affidavits and Declarations15 rules
MPEP § 715.05 — U.S. Patent or Application Publication Claiming Same Invention22 rules
MPEP § 715.07 — Facts and Documentary Evidence48 rules
MPEP § 715.07(a) — Diligence17 rules
MPEP § 715.07(b) — Interference Testimony Sometimes Used5 rules
MPEP § 715.07(c) — Acts Relied Upon Must Have Been Carried Out in This Country or a NAFTA or WTO Member Country13 rules
MPEP § 715.07(d) — Disposition of Exhibits2 rules
MPEP § 715.08 — Decided by Primary Examiner3 rules
MPEP § 715.09 — Timely Presentation4 rules
MPEP § 715.10 — Review of Affidavit or Declaration for Evidence of Prior Public Use or Sale or Failure to Disclose Best Mode6 rules
MPEP § 716 — Affidavits or Declarations Under 37 CFR 1.132 and Other Evidence Traversing Rejections20 rules
MPEP § 716.01 — Generally Applicable Criteria5 rules
MPEP § 716.01(a) — Objective Evidence of Nonobviousness8 rules
MPEP § 716.01(b) — Nexus Requirement and Evidence of Nonobviousness33 rules
MPEP § 716.01(c) — Probative Value of Objective Evidence22 rules
MPEP § 716.01(d) — Weighing Objective Evidence15 rules
MPEP § 716.02 — Allegations of Unexpected Results4 rules
MPEP § 716.02(a) — Evidence Must Show Unexpected Results15 rules
MPEP § 716.02(b) — Burden on Applicant8 rules
MPEP § 716.02(c) — Weighing Evidence of Expected and Unexpected Results10 rules
MPEP § 716.02(d) — Unexpected Results Commensurate in Scope With Claimed Invention17 rules
MPEP § 716.02(e) — Comparison With Closest Prior Art13 rules
MPEP § 716.02(f) — Advantages Disclosed or Inherent4 rules
MPEP § 716.03 — Commercial Success5 rules
MPEP § 716.03(a) — Commercial Success Commensurate in Scope With Claimed Invention6 rules
MPEP § 716.03(b) — Commercial Success Derived From Claimed Invention14 rules
MPEP § 716.04 — Long-Felt Need and Failure of Others11 rules
MPEP § 716.05 — Skepticism of Experts2 rules
MPEP § 716.06 — Copying11 rules
MPEP § 716.07 — Inoperability of References7 rules
MPEP § 716.08 — Utility and Operability of Applicant’s Disclosure1 rules
MPEP § 716.09 — Sufficiency of Disclosure9 rules
MPEP § 716.10 — Attribution Affidavit or Declaration to Overcome Rejection Under Pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 or 10329 rules
MPEP § 717 — Prior Art Exceptions under AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(1) and (2)12 rules
MPEP § 717.01 — Affidavit or Declaration Under 37 CFR 1.13051 rules
MPEP § 717.01(a) — Declarations or Affidavits under 37 CFR 1.130(a) – Attribution5 rules
MPEP § 717.01(b) — Declarations or Affidavits under 37 CFR 1.130(b) – Prior Public Disclosure5 rules
MPEP § 717.01(c) — Who May Make Affidavit or Declaration; Formal Requirements of Affidavits and Declarations11 rules
MPEP § 717.01(d) — U.S. Patent or Application Publication Claiming Same Invention7 rules
MPEP § 717.01(e) — Passed Upon (or Decided by) by Primary Examiner3 rules
MPEP § 717.01(f) — Seasonable (or Timely) Presentation5 rules
MPEP § 717.02 — Prior Art Exception for Commonly Owned or Joint Research Agreement Subject Matter under AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C)10 rules
MPEP § 717.02(a) — Invoking the Prior Art Exception under 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C)76 rules
MPEP § 717.02(b) — Evaluating Whether the Prior Art Exception under AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) is Properly Invoked64 rules
MPEP § 717.02(c) — Examination Procedure With Respect to the Prior Art Exception under AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C)19 rules
MPEP § 717.02(d) — Form Paragraphs With Respect to the Prior Art Exception under AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C)18 rules
MPEP § 718 — Affidavit or Declaration to Disqualify Commonly Owned Patent as Prior Art, 37 CFR 1.131(c)9 rules
MPEP § 719 — File Wrapper1 rules
MPEP § 719.01 — Papers in Image File Wrapper3 rules
MPEP § 719.02 — Residence of Inventor Changed4 rules
MPEP § 719.03 — Classification During Examination1 rules
MPEP § 719.04 — Index of Claims1 rules
MPEP § 719.05 — Field of Search63 rules
MPEP § 720 — Public Use Proceedings3 rules
MPEP § 724 — Trade Secret, Proprietary, and Protective Order Materials13 rules
MPEP § 724.01 — Completeness of the Patent File Wrapper2 rules
MPEP § 724.02 — Method of Submitting Trade Secret, Proprietary, and/or Protective Order Materials9 rules
MPEP § 724.03 — Types of Trade Secret, Proprietary, and/or Protective Order Materials Submitted Under MPEP § 724.027 rules
MPEP § 724.04 — Office Treatment and Handling of Materials Submitted Under MPEP § 724.028 rules
MPEP § 724.04(a) — Materials Submitted in an Application Covered by 35 U.S.C. 12213 rules
MPEP § 724.04(b) — Materials Submitted in Reissue Applications Open to the Public Under 37 CFR 1.11(b)11 rules
MPEP § 724.04(c) — Materials Submitted in Reexamination File Open to the Public Under 37 CFR 1.11(d)13 rules
MPEP § 724.05 — Petition To Expunge Information or Copy of Papers in Application File20 rules
MPEP § 724.06 — Handling of Petitions To Expunge Information or Copy of Papers in Application File23 rules