What is an abandoned patent application?

An abandoned patent application is one that has been removed from the Office docket of pending applications. According to MPEP 203.05, this can occur in several ways:

• Through formal abandonment by the applicant or their attorney/agent
• Due to failure of the applicant to take appropriate action during prosecution
• For failure to pay the issue fee
• In the case of a provisional application, no later than 12 months after the filing date

As stated in MPEP 203.05: An abandoned application is, inter alia, one which is removed from the Office docket of pending applications. The specific reasons for abandonment are listed in the same section.