37 C.F.R. PART 1--RULES OF PRACTICE IN PATENT CASES
TITLE 37--Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights
CHAPTER I--UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
SUBCHAPTER A--GENERAL
PART 1--RULES OF PRACTICE IN PATENT CASES
Subpart A--GENERAL PROVISIONS
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| Addresses for non-trademark correspondence with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
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| Business to be transacted in writing.
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| Business to be conducted with decorum and courtesy.
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| Nature of correspondence and signature requirements.
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| Identification of patent, patent application, or patent-related proceeding.
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| Receipt of correspondence.
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| Times for taking action; Expiration on Saturday, Sunday or Federal holiday.
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| Certificate of mailing or transmission.
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| Filing of correspondence by ''Express Mail.''
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| Files open to the public.
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| Assignment records open to public inspection.
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| Copies and certified copies.
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| Patent applications preserved in confidence.
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| National application filing, search, and examination fees.
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| Patent application and reexamination processing fees.
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| Patent post allowance (including issue) fees.
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| Miscellaneous fees and charges.
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| Definition of small entities and establishing status as a small entity to permit payment of small entity fees; when a determination of entitlement to small entity status and notification of loss of entitlement to small entity status are required; fraud on the Office.
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| Refunds when small entity status is later established; how errors in small entity status are excused.
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Subpart B--NATIONAL PROCESSING PROVISIONS
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| Applicant may be represented by one or more patent practitioners or joint inventors.
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| Correspondence respecting patent applications, reexamination proceedings, and other proceedings.
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| Acting in a representative capacity.
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| Revocation of power of attorney; withdrawal of patent attorney or agent.
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| When the inventor is dead.
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| When the inventor is insane or legally incapacitated.
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| Assigned inventions and patents.
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| Filing when an inventor refuses to sign or cannot be reached.
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| Correction of inventorship in a patent application, other than a reissue application, pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 116.
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| General requisites of an application.
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| Language, paper, writing, margins, compact disc specifications.
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| Application number, filing date, and completion of application.
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| Parts of application to be filed together; filing receipt.
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| Claim for foreign priority.
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| Duty to disclose information material to patentability.
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| Incorporation by reference.
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| Chemical and mathematical formulae and tables.
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| Expungement of information or copy of papers in application file.
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| Person making oath or declaration.
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| Officers authorized to administer oaths.
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| Supplemental oath or declaration.
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| Declaration in lieu of oath.
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| Foreign language oaths and declarations.
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| Detailed description and specification of the invention.
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| Summary of the invention.
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| Arrangement of application elements.
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| Claiming benefit of earlier filing date and cross-references to other applications.
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| Reservation clauses not permitted.
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| Drawings required in patent application.
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| Models or exhibits not generally admitted as part of application or patent.
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| Return of models, exhibits or specimens.
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| Submission of computer program listings.
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| Filing of information disclosure statement.
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| Content of information disclosure statement.
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| Third-party submission in published application.
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| Advancement of examination.
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| Suspension of action by the Office.
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| Requirements for information.
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| Inventorship and date of invention of the subject matter of individual claims.
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| Reply by applicant or patent owner to a non-final Office action.
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| Reconsideration before final action.
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| Final rejection or action.
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| Request for continued examination.
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| Amendments and affidavits or other evidence after final action and prior to appeal.
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| Manner of making amendments in applications.
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| Substitute specification.
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| Petition from refusal to admit amendment.
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| Transitional procedures for limited examination after final rejection and restriction practice.
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| Affidavit or declaration to disqualify commonly owned patent or published application as prior art.
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| Affidavit or declaration of prior invention.
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| Affidavits or declarations traversing rejections or objections.
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| Time period for reply to an Office action.
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| Abandonment for failure to reply within time period.
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| Revival of abandoned application, terminated reexamination proceeding, or lapsed patent.
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| Different inventions in one national application.
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| Requirement for restriction.
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| Reconsideration of requirement.
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| Petition from requirement for restriction.
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| Subsequent presentation of claims for different invention.
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| Title, description and claim, oath or declaration.
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| Arrangement of application elements in a design application.
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| Expedited examination of design applications.
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| Applicant, oath or declaration.
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| Specification and arrangement of application elements in a plant application.
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| Reissue specification, drawings, and amendments.
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| Reissue oath or declaration.
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| Issuance of multiple reissue patents.
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| Original patent; continuing duty of applicant.
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| Petition to the Director.
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| Questions not specifically provided for.
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| Appeal to Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences.
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| Return of jurisdiction from the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences; termination of proceedings.
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| Reopening after a final decision of the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences.
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| Publication of applications.
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| Patent application publication.
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| Publication of a redacted copy of an application.
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| Voluntary publication or republication of patent application publication.
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| Service of papers; manner of service; proof of service in cases other than interferences.
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| Protests by the public against pending applications.
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| Statutory invention registration.
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| Examination of request for publication of a statutory invention registration and patent application to which the request is directed.
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| Review of decision finally refusing to publish a statutory invention registration.
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| Withdrawal of request for publication of statutory invention registration.
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| Publication of statutory invention registration.
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| Appeal to U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
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| Civil action under 35 U.S.C. 145, 146, 306.
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| Time for appeal or civil action.
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| Amendments after allowance.
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| Application abandoned for failure to pay issue fee.
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| Lapsed patents; delayed payment of balance of issue fee.
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| Statutory disclaimers, including terminal disclaimers.
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| Certificate of correction of Office mistake.
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| Certificate of correction of applicant's mistake.
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| Correction of inventorship in patent, pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 256.
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| Other mistakes not corrected.
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| Filing of notice of arbitration awards.
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| Amendments to rules will be published.
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| Time for payment of maintenance fees.
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| Fee address for maintenance fee purposes.
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| Submission of maintenance fees.
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| Review of decision refusing to accept and record payment of a maintenance fee filed prior to expiration of patent.
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| Acceptance of delayed payment of maintenance fee in expired patent to reinstate patent.
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Subpart C--INTERNATIONAL PROCESSING PROVISIONS
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| Definitions of terms under the Patent Cooperation Treaty.
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| The United States Receiving Office.
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| The United States International Searching Authority.
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| The United States Patent and Trademark Office as a Designated Office or Elected Office.
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| The International Bureau.
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| The United States International Preliminary Examining Authority.
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| Submission of translation of international publication.
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| Display of currently valid control number under the Paperwork Reduction Act.
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| Applicant for international application.
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| When the inventor is dead.
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| When the inventor is insane or legally incapacitated.
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| International application requirements.
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| Designation of States by filing an international application.
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| Physical requirements of international application.
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| International application filing, processing and search fees.
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| Refund of international application filing and processing fees.
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| The priority claim and priority document in an international application.
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| Representation in international applications.
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| Procedures for transmittal of record copy to the International Bureau.
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| Timing of application processing based on the priority date.
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| Delays in meeting time limits.
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| Corrections and amendments during international processing.
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| Changes in person, name, or address of applicants and inventors.
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| Unity of invention before the International Searching Authority, the International Preliminary Examining Authority and during the national stage.
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| Determination of unity of invention before the International Searching Authority.
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| Protest to lack of unity of invention before the International Searching Authority.
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| Demand for international preliminary examination.
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| Payment of international preliminary examination fees.
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| International preliminary examination fees.
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| Conduct of international preliminary examination.
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| Amendments by applicant during international preliminary examination.
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| Determination of unity of invention before the International Preliminary Examining Authority.
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| Protest to lack of unity of invention before the International Preliminary Examining Authority.
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| National stage commencement and entry.
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| Entering the national stage in the United States of America.
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| Examination of international applications in the national stage.
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| Oath or declaration under 35 U.S.C. 371(c)(4).
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| Unity of invention during the national stage.
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Subpart D-- REEXAMINATION OF PATENTS
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| Citation of prior art in patent files.
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| Processing of prior art citations during an reexamination proceeding.
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| Request for reexamination.
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| Determination of the request for reexamination.
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| reexamination at the initiative of the Director.
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| Statement by patent owner in reexamination; amendment by patent owner in or reexamination; inventorship change in or reexamination.
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| Reply by third party requester in reexamination.
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| Consideration of responses in reexamination.
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| Conduct of reexamination proceedings.
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| Scope of reexamination in reexamination proceedings.
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| Information material to patentability in reexamination and reexamination proceedings.
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| Interviews in reexamination proceedings.
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| Concurrent office proceedings which include an reexamination proceeding.
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| Issuance of reexamination certificate after reexamination proceedings.
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Subpart E--[RESERVED]
Subpart F--ADJUSTMENT AND EXTENSION OF PATENT TERM
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| Extension of patent term due to examination delay under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (original applications, other than designs, filed on or after June 8, 1995, and before May 29, 2000).
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| Grounds for adjustment of patent term due to examination delay under the Patent Term Guarantee Act of 1999 (original applications, other than designs, filed on or after May 29, 2000).
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| Period of adjustment of patent term due to examination delay.
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| Reduction of period of adjustment of patent term.
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| Patent term adjustment determination.
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| Patents subject to extension of the patent term.
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| Conditions for extension of patent term.
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| Applicant for extension of patent term; signature requirements.
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| Formal requirements for application for extension of patent term; correction of informalities.
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| Complete application given a filing date; petition procedure.
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| Determination of eligibility for extension of patent term.
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| Interim extension of patent term under 35 U.S.C. 156(e)(2).
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| Duty of disclosure in patent term extension proceedings.
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| Express withdrawal of application for extension of patent term.
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| Calculation of patent term extension for a human drug, antibiotic drug or human biological product.
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| Calculation of patent term extension for a food additive or color additive.
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| Calculation of patent term extension for a medical device.
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| Calculation of patent term extension for an animal drug product.
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| Calculation of patent term extension for a veterinary biological product.
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| Certificate or order of extension of patent term.
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| Multiple applications for extension of term of the same patent or of different patents for the same regulatory review period for a product.
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| Interim extension of patent term under 35 U.S.C. 156(d)(5).
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| Termination of interim extension granted prior to regulatory approval of a product for commercial marketing or use.
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Subpart G--BIOTECHNOLOGY INVENTION DISCLOSURES
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| Need or opportunity to make a deposit.
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| Time of making an original deposit.
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| Replacement or supplement of deposit.
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| Nucleotide and/or amino acid sequence disclosures in patent applications.
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| Symbols and format to be used for nucleotide and/or amino acid sequence data.
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| Requirements for nucleotide and/or amino acid sequences as part of the application.
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| Form and format for nucleotide and/or amino acid sequence submissions in computer readable form.
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| Amendments to or replacement of sequence listing and computer readable copy thereof.
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Subpart H-- REEXAMINATION OF PATENTS THAT ISSUED FROM AN ORIGINAL APPLICATION FILED IN THE UNITED STATES ON OR AFTER NOVEMBER 29, 1999
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| Processing of prior art citations during an reexamination proceeding.
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| Service of papers on parties in reexamination.
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| Notice of reexamination in
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| Submission of papers by the public in reexamination.
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| Scope of reexamination in reexamination proceeding.
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| reexamination prohibited.
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| Persons eligible to file request for reexamination.
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| Content of request for reexamination.
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| Filing date of request for reexamination.
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| Examiner's determination on the request for reexamination.
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| Partial refund if request for reexamination is not ordered.
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| Petition to review refusal to order reexamination.
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| Patent owner duty of disclosure in reexamination proceedings.
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| Initial Office action usually accompanies order for reexamination.
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| Conduct of reexamination.
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| Unauthorized papers in reexamination.
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| Amendments by patent owner in reexamination.
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| Requirements of responses, written comments, and briefs in reexamination.
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| Response to Office action by patent owner in reexamination.
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| Comments by third party requester to patent owner's response in reexamination.
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| Limitations on submission of prior art by third party requester following the order for reexamination.
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| Examiner's Office action closing prosecution in reexamination.
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| Options after Office action closing prosecution in reexamination.
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| Examiner's Right of Appeal Notice in reexamination.
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| Interviews prohibited in reexamination proceedings.
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| Patent owner extensions of time in reexamination.
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| Failure to file a timely, appropriate or complete response or comment in reexamination.
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| Petition to revive terminated reexamination or claims terminated for lack of patent owner response.
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| Return of Jurisdiction from the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences; termination of proceedings.
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| Reopening after a final decision of the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences.
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| Appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in reexamination.
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| Notification of prior or concurrent proceedings in reexamination.
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| Suspension of reexamination proceeding due to litigation.
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| Merger of concurrent reexamination proceedings.
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| Merger of concurrent reissue application and reexamination proceeding.
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| Suspension of concurrent interference and reexamination proceeding.
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| Third party requester's participation rights preserved in merged proceeding.
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| Issuance of reexamination certificate.
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