How can I obtain copies of U.S. patents and patent application publications cited in an Office action?
The USPTO provides several options for obtaining copies of cited U.S. patents and patent application publications, as outlined in MPEP 707.05(a):
- Patent Center (for registered users or published applications)
- Patent Public Search tool (for all users)
- Patent and Trademark Resource Centers (PTRCs)
- Patent Full-Text Databases on the USPTO website
- E-Patent Reference (for registered users)
- Commercial sources
The MPEP advises: To obtain copies of the cited U.S. patent(s) and/or U.S. patent application publication(s), any of the following options may be used, free of charge:
followed by a detailed list of these options.
To learn more:
- U.S. patents
- patent application publications
- Patent Center
- Patent Public Search
- PTRC
- E-Patent Reference
To learn more: