How does common ownership affect patent examination under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(c)?

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.

Common ownership plays a crucial role in patent examination under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(c). The MPEP provides guidance on this:

“Applications and patents will be considered to be owned by, or subject to an obligation of assignment to, the same person, at the time the invention was made, if the applicant(s) or patent owner(s) make(s) a statement to the effect that the application and the reference were, at the time the invention was made, owned by, or subject to an obligation of assignment to, the same person(s) or organization(s).“

This means that if common ownership is established, certain prior art references may be disqualified, potentially avoiding obviousness rejections under 35 U.S.C. 103(a).