What is a Notice of Foreign Filing in patent law?
A Notice of Foreign Filing is a requirement for patent applicants who have filed a nonpublication request for their U.S. patent application and subsequently file a counterpart application in a foreign country or under a multilateral international agreement. According to MPEP 1124, applicants must notify the USPTO of this foreign filing within 45 days to avoid abandonment of their U.S. application.
As stated in the MPEP:
“Applicants must timely file a notice of foreign filing to avoid abandonment of a U.S. application if: (A) applicant filed a nonpublication request in the U.S. application filed under 35 U.S.C. 111(a) (see MPEP § 1122); (B) applicant subsequently filed a foreign or international application directed to the invention disclosed in the U.S. application in a foreign country, or under a multilateral international agreement, that requires publication of applications 18 months after filing (foreign filing or counterpart application); and (C) applicant did not rescind the nonpublication request before filing the foreign or international application (see MPEP § 1123).”
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