How should prior art be submitted with a patent protest?
When submitting prior art with a patent protest, follow these guidelines: Include a copy of each prior art document relied upon. Provide an English language translation of any non-English language prior art. Highlight the relevant parts of the prior art documents. According to MPEP 1901.03: “Copies of any prior art or other documents relied upon…
Read MoreHow does the USPTO handle non-English language prior art documents?
The USPTO handles non-English language prior art documents as follows: Examiners may rely on a machine translation or a translation provided by an applicant to determine the content of non-English language prior art. If the document is in a language the examiner understands, they may use their own translation. For documents of particular relevance, the…
Read MoreWhat are the requirements for translations of non-English language prior art in patent applications?
According to MPEP 901.05(d), translations of non-English language prior art must meet specific requirements: The translation must be a complete translation of the entire document, including the abstract, text, and all figures. If the translation is a machine translation, it should be identified as such. The translation should be accurate and reliable. The original foreign…
Read MoreWhat is the Scientific and Technical Information Center (STIC) role in patent translations?
The Scientific and Technical Information Center (STIC) plays a crucial role in providing human translations for patent examiners when dealing with non-English language prior art. According to MPEP 901.05(d): “If the examiner believes that a machine translation or translation submitted by an applicant is not accurate, the examiner should obtain a human translation from STIC.”…
Read MoreCan patent examiners rely on machine translations for non-English prior art?
Yes, patent examiners can rely on machine translations for non-English prior art, but with some caveats. The MPEP 901.05(d) states: “Examiners may rely on a machine translation of a foreign language document unless the machine translation is not of sufficient quality to be adequate evidence of the contents of the document.” Key points to note:…
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