Patent Law FAQ
This FAQ answers all your questions about patent law, patent procedure, and the patent examination process.
Here’s the complete FAQ:
MPEP 200 - Types and Status of Application; Benefit and Priority (2)
A patent application stops being considered ‘new’ when it receives its first action from the examiner. According to MPEP 203.01:
A ‘new’ application is a nonprovisional application that has not yet received an action by the examiner.
This implies that once the examiner issues any official communication or action on the merits of the application, such as a non-final rejection or a notice of allowance, the application is no longer considered ‘new’ in the patent examination process.
To learn more:
According to MPEP 203.03, an applicant has several options when responding to an examiner’s action:
The applicant’s reply may be confined to an election, a traverse of the action taken by the examiner or may include an amendment of the application.
These options can be broken down as follows:
- Election: Choosing between different inventions or species identified by the examiner.
- Traverse: Arguing against the examiner’s rejections or objections.
- Amendment: Modifying the application to address the examiner’s concerns or to clarify the invention.
To learn more:
MPEP 200 - Types and Status of Application; Benefit and Priority Claims (2)
According to MPEP 203.03, a nonprovisional patent application is considered “amended” after it has been initially acted on by the examiner, and the applicant has filed a reply to the examiner’s action. The applicant’s reply may include:
- An election
- A traverse of the examiner’s action
- An amendment to the application
A nonprovisional patent application is designated as “rejected” if, during prosecution before allowance, it contains an examiner’s action that has not been replied to by the applicant. As stated in MPEP 203.02:
A nonprovisional application which, during its prosecution in the examining group and before allowance, contains an unanswered examiner’s action is designated as a “rejected” application. Its status as a “rejected” application continues as such until acted upon by the applicant in reply to the examiner’s action (within the allotted reply period), or until it becomes abandoned.
MPEP 203 - Status of Applications (2)
According to MPEP 203.03, a nonprovisional patent application is considered “amended” after it has been initially acted on by the examiner, and the applicant has filed a reply to the examiner’s action. The applicant’s reply may include:
- An election
- A traverse of the examiner’s action
- An amendment to the application
A nonprovisional patent application is designated as “rejected” if, during prosecution before allowance, it contains an examiner’s action that has not been replied to by the applicant. As stated in MPEP 203.02:
A nonprovisional application which, during its prosecution in the examining group and before allowance, contains an unanswered examiner’s action is designated as a “rejected” application. Its status as a “rejected” application continues as such until acted upon by the applicant in reply to the examiner’s action (within the allotted reply period), or until it becomes abandoned.
Patent Law (4)
According to MPEP 203.03, a nonprovisional patent application is considered “amended” after it has been initially acted on by the examiner, and the applicant has filed a reply to the examiner’s action. The applicant’s reply may include:
- An election
- A traverse of the examiner’s action
- An amendment to the application
A patent application stops being considered ‘new’ when it receives its first action from the examiner. According to MPEP 203.01:
A ‘new’ application is a nonprovisional application that has not yet received an action by the examiner.
This implies that once the examiner issues any official communication or action on the merits of the application, such as a non-final rejection or a notice of allowance, the application is no longer considered ‘new’ in the patent examination process.
To learn more:
A nonprovisional patent application is designated as “rejected” if, during prosecution before allowance, it contains an examiner’s action that has not been replied to by the applicant. As stated in MPEP 203.02:
A nonprovisional application which, during its prosecution in the examining group and before allowance, contains an unanswered examiner’s action is designated as a “rejected” application. Its status as a “rejected” application continues as such until acted upon by the applicant in reply to the examiner’s action (within the allotted reply period), or until it becomes abandoned.
According to MPEP 203.03, an applicant has several options when responding to an examiner’s action:
The applicant’s reply may be confined to an election, a traverse of the action taken by the examiner or may include an amendment of the application.
These options can be broken down as follows:
- Election: Choosing between different inventions or species identified by the examiner.
- Traverse: Arguing against the examiner’s rejections or objections.
- Amendment: Modifying the application to address the examiner’s concerns or to clarify the invention.
To learn more:
Patent Procedure (4)
According to MPEP 203.03, a nonprovisional patent application is considered “amended” after it has been initially acted on by the examiner, and the applicant has filed a reply to the examiner’s action. The applicant’s reply may include:
- An election
- A traverse of the examiner’s action
- An amendment to the application
A patent application stops being considered ‘new’ when it receives its first action from the examiner. According to MPEP 203.01:
A ‘new’ application is a nonprovisional application that has not yet received an action by the examiner.
This implies that once the examiner issues any official communication or action on the merits of the application, such as a non-final rejection or a notice of allowance, the application is no longer considered ‘new’ in the patent examination process.
To learn more:
A nonprovisional patent application is designated as “rejected” if, during prosecution before allowance, it contains an examiner’s action that has not been replied to by the applicant. As stated in MPEP 203.02:
A nonprovisional application which, during its prosecution in the examining group and before allowance, contains an unanswered examiner’s action is designated as a “rejected” application. Its status as a “rejected” application continues as such until acted upon by the applicant in reply to the examiner’s action (within the allotted reply period), or until it becomes abandoned.
According to MPEP 203.03, an applicant has several options when responding to an examiner’s action:
The applicant’s reply may be confined to an election, a traverse of the action taken by the examiner or may include an amendment of the application.
These options can be broken down as follows:
- Election: Choosing between different inventions or species identified by the examiner.
- Traverse: Arguing against the examiner’s rejections or objections.
- Amendment: Modifying the application to address the examiner’s concerns or to clarify the invention.
To learn more: