What happens if copending applications have no common inventor, applicant, or assignee?

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.

When copending applications have no common inventor, applicant, or assignee, the treatment differs. MPEP 2154.01(d) states:

“If there is no common assignee, common applicant, or common (joint) inventor and the application was not published pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 122(b), the confidential status of applications under 35 U.S.C. 122(a) must be maintained and no rejection can be made relying on the first (earlier filed), unpublished application, or subject matter not supported in a redacted application publication, as prior art under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2).”

This means that the examiner cannot use an unpublished application as prior art against another application if there’s no connection between them. The confidentiality of unpublished applications is protected in these cases.