37 CFR § 1.215 — Patent application publication. (MPEP Coverage Index) – BlueIron IP
37 CFR § 1.215 Patent application publication.
This page consolidates MPEP guidance interpreting 37 CFR § 1.215, including 72 rules 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.
Summary
The Office has discretion to refuse the publication of patent applications if they contain offensive material or if pre-grant publication requests are not properly submitted via EFS-Web.
What this section covers
- This section covers the Office's authority to refuse publishing a patent application due to offensive content, and the requirement for proper submission of pre-grant publication requests through EFS-Web.
Key obligations
- Ensure no offensive material is included in the application to avoid Office refusal of publication.
- Use the appropriate form-fillable application data sheet (PTO/AIA/14 or PTO/SB/14) for pre-grant publication requests submitted via EFS-Web.
- The Office has discretion to refuse publication under 37 CFR 1.215, based on the content and submission process of the application.
Practice notes
- Review the application for any potentially offensive material before submission to avoid Office refusal of publication.
- Ensure the use of the correct form for pre-grant publication requests to avoid delays or refusal by the Office.
Official MPEP § 1.215 — Patent application publication.
Source: USPTOLast Modified: 10/30/2024 08:50:22
1.215 Patent application publication.
[Editor Note: Paragraphs (a) – (c) below are applicable only to patent applications filed under 35 U.S.C. 111(a) or 363 on or after September 16, 2012 *]
- (a) The publication of an application under 35 U.S.C. 122(b) shall include a patent application publication. The date of publication shall be indicated on the patent application publication. The patent application publication will be based upon the specification and drawings deposited on the filing date of the application, as well as the application data sheet and/or the inventor’s oath or declaration. The patent application publication may also be based upon amendments to the specification (other than the abstract or the claims) that are reflected in a substitute specification under § 1.125(b) , amendments to the abstract under § 1.121(b) , amendments to the claims that are reflected in a complete claim listing under § 1.121(c) , and amendments to the drawings under § 1.121(d) , provided that such substitute specification or amendment is submitted in sufficient time to be entered into the Office file wrapper of the application before technical preparations for publication of the application have begun. Technical preparations for publication of an application generally begin four months prior to the projected date of publication. The patent application publication of an application that has entered the national stage under 35 U.S.C. 371 may also include amendments made during the international stage. See paragraph (c) of this section for publication of an application based upon a copy of the application submitted via the USPTO patent electronic filing system.
- (b) The patent application publication will include the name of the assignee, person to whom the inventor is under an obligation to assign the invention, or person who otherwise shows sufficient proprietary interest in the matter if that information is provided in the application data sheet in an application filed under § 1.46 . Assignee information may be included on the patent application publication in other applications if the assignee information is provided in an application data sheet submitted in sufficient time to be entered into the Office file wrapper of the application before technical preparations for publication of the application have begun. Providing assignee information in the application data sheet does not substitute for compliance with any requirement of part 3 of this chapter to have an assignment recorded by the Office.
- (c) At applicant’s option, the patent application publication will be based upon the copy of the application (specification, drawings, and the application data sheet and/or the inventor’s oath or declaration) as amended, provided that applicant supplies such a copy in compliance with the USPTO patent electronic filing system requirements within one month of the mailing date of the first Office communication that includes a confirmation number for the application, or fourteen months of the earliest filing date for which a benefit is sought under title 35, United States Code, whichever is later.
- (d) If the copy of the application submitted pursuant to paragraph (c) of this section does not comply with the USPTO patent electronic filing system requirements, the Office will publish the application as provided in paragraph (a) of this section. If, however, the Office has not started the publication process, the Office may use an untimely filed copy of the application supplied by the applicant under paragraph (c) of this section in creating the patent application publication.
[Added, 65 FR 57024, Sept. 20, 2000, effective Nov. 29, 2000; paras. (a) and (c) revised, 69 FR 56481, Sept. 21, 2004, effective Oct. 21, 2004; paras. (a)-(c) revised, 77 FR 48776, Aug. 14, 2012, effective Sept. 16, 2012; paras. (a), (c), and (d) revised, 87 FR 68900, Nov. 17, 2022, effective Dec. 19, 2022]
[ *The revisions to paras. (a)-(c) effective Sept. 16, 2012 are applicable only to patent applications filed under 35 U.S.C. 111(a) or 363 on or after Sept. 16, 2012. See § 1.215 (pre‑AIA) for the rule otherwise in effect.]
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