How is the date of abandonment determined for a patent application?

How is the date of abandonment determined for a patent application?

The date of abandonment for a patent application is determined based on the following rules:

• If the application becomes abandoned for failure to prosecute, the date of abandonment is the day after the date set in the last Office action for a response.
• If the application becomes abandoned for failure to pay the issue fee, the date of abandonment is the day after the date the issue fee was due.
• If the application becomes abandoned for failure to notify the Office of a foreign filing after filing a nonpublication request, the date of abandonment is the date of the foreign filing.

According to MPEP 711.04(a): ‘The date of abandonment of an application is the date on which the application is abandoned in fact.’ This means the actual date when the conditions for abandonment are met, not necessarily the date when the abandonment is recognized or declared by the Office.

To learn more:

• patent application
• abandonment date
• failure to prosecute
• issue fee
• foreign filing

To learn more:

• date of abandonment
• failure to reply
• express abandonment