What types of activities can be used against claims in patent applications?

According to MPEP 715.01(d), various types of activities can be used against claims in patent applications. These include:

• Public use
• Sales
• Publications
• Patents
• Abandoned applications
• Statutory invention registrations (SIRs)

The MPEP states: ‘The rejection may be based on activities by the inventor(s) or a different inventive entity.’ This means that both the applicant’s own activities and those of others can potentially be used as prior art against the claims.

To learn more:

• prior art
• patent claims
• public use
• sales
• publications
• abandoned applications