What are the requirements for filing a petition to expunge information submitted under MPEP § 724.02?

To file a petition to expunge information submitted under MPEP § 724.02, you must meet several requirements as outlined in MPEP 724.05:

• File the petition fee under 37 CFR 1.17(g)
• Submit the petition at the time of filing the information or shortly thereafter
• Direct the petition to the Technology Center (TC) to which the application is assigned

The petition must contain:

• A clear identification of the information to be expunged without disclosing its details
• A statement that the information is trade secret, proprietary, or subject to a protective order and has not been made public
• A commitment to retain the information for the patent’s enforceability period
• A statement that the petition is submitted by or on behalf of the party who originally submitted the information

As stated in MPEP 724.05, Timely submission of the petition is, accordingly, extremely important. The petition should be filed before the mailing of a notice of allowability or abandonment for original and reissue applications, or before the reexamination certificate printing process begins for reexamination proceedings.

To learn more:

• petition requirements
• MPEP 724.02
• expunge information
• patent application
• proprietary information

To learn more:

• MPEP 724.02