Can status information be provided for unpublished patent applications?
In general, status information cannot be provided for unpublished patent applications, unless the requester is:
- The applicant
- A patent practitioner of record
- The assignee or an assignee of an undivided part interest
- The inventor or a joint inventor
- A registered attorney or agent named in the application papers
Alternatively, a person with written authority from any of the above parties can be provided status information.
There are some exceptions where status information can be supplied for unpublished applications, such as:
- When the application is identified in a published patent document or another application publication
- When the application is a national stage application or claims benefit to a published international application and the US is a designated state
- When the application is an international design application maintained by the USPTO for national processing
Topics:
MPEP 102-Information as to Status of an Application,
Patent Law