Who is responsible for signing patent examiner actions?

Patent examiner actions are signed by two key individuals:

1. Assistant Examiner: Initials the original action (if an assistant examiner is involved).
2. Authorized Signatory Examiner: Signs the action, providing official approval.

The MPEP 707.12 states: Access to the examiner’s action is given electronically or copies are mailed after the original, initialed by the assistant examiner, if any, and signed by the authorized signatory examiner, has been soft scanned into the image file wrapper. This dual signature process ensures proper review and authorization of examiner actions before they are communicated to patent applicants.

To learn more:

• patent examiner
• office action
• signature authority
• USPTO procedure
• patent examination