What is the significance of WIPO published applications under AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2)?
Under the America Invents Act (AIA), WIPO published applications that designate the United States are treated as U.S. patent application publications for prior art purposes. This is significant because:
- They are considered prior art regardless of their international filing date
- It doesn’t matter if they are published in English or not
- They are prior art whether or not the PCT application enters the national stage in the United States
As stated in the MPEP: The WIPO publication of a PCT international application that designates the United States is an application for patent deemed published under 35 U.S.C. 122(b) for purposes of AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) under 35 U.S.C. 374.
This means that WIPO published applications can be used as prior art in the same way as U.S. patent application publications under the AIA.
To learn more:
Topics:
MPEP 2100 - Patentability,
MPEP 2154.01(A) - Wipo Published Applications,
Patent Law,
Patent Procedure