How are plant patent applications handled in the USPTO?

This page is an FAQ based on guidance 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.

Plant patent applications in the USPTO are handled as follows:

• All plant patent applications under 35 U.S.C. 161 are assigned and examined in Art Unit (AU) 1661.
• If an application is accidentally routed to the wrong AU, it will be manually rerouted to the Office of Patent Application Processing (OPAP) for correct routing.

The MPEP states: If an application is accidently routed to the AU which is not a plant application, the application will be manually rerouted to OPAP for routing to the appropriate AU.