37 CFR § 42.412 — Public availability of Board (MPEP Coverage Index) – BlueIron IP
37 CFR § 42.412 Public availability of Board
Source: Patent Rule (37 CFR)BlueIron Update:
This page consolidates MPEP guidance interpreting 37 CFR § 42.412, including 0 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.
Official MPEP § 42.412 — Public availability of Board
Source: USPTOLast Modified: 10/30/2024 08:50:22
42.412 Public availability of Board records.
- (a)
Publication.
- (1) Generally. Any Board decision is available for public inspection without a party’s permission if rendered in a file open to the public pursuant to § 1.11 of this chapter or in an application that has been published in accordance with §§ 1.211 to 1.221 of this chapter. The Office may independently publish any Board decision that is available for public inspection.
- (2) Determination of special circumstances. Any Board decision not publishable under paragraph (a)(1) of this section may be published or made available for public inspection if the Director believes that special circumstances warrant publication and a party does not petition within two months after being notified of the intention to make the decision public, objecting in writing on the ground that the decision discloses the objecting party’s trade secret or other confidential information and stating with specificity that such information is not otherwise publicly available.
- (b)
Record of proceeding.
- (1) The record of a Board proceeding is available to the public, unless a patent application not otherwise available to the public is involved.
- (2) Notwithstanding paragraph (b)(1) of this section, after a final Board decision in or judgment in a Board proceeding, the record of the Board proceeding will be made available to the public if any involved file is or becomes open to the public under § 1.11 of this chapter or an involved application is or becomes published under §§ 1.211 to 1.221 of this chapter.
[Added 77 FR 56068, Sept. 11, 2012, effective Mar. 16, 2013]