United States · regulation · 37 CFR · 1,263 active provisions
(a) In general. Except for correspondence submitted via the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) patent electronic filing system in accordance with § 1.6(a)(4), all correspondence intended for the USPTO must be addressed to either “Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria…
All business with the Patent and Trademark Office should be transacted in writing. The personal attendance of applicants or their attorneys or agents at the Patent and Trademark Office is unnecessary. The action of the Patent and Trademark Office will be based exclusively on the written record in the Office. No attenti…
Applicants and their attorneys or agents are required to conduct their business with the United States Patent and Trademark Office with decorum and courtesy. Papers presented in violation of this requirement will be submitted to the Director and will not be entered. A notice of the non-entry of the paper will be provid…
(a) Correspondence with the Patent and Trademark Office comprises: (1) Correspondence relating to services and facilities of the Office, such as general inquiries, requests for publications supplied by the Office, orders for printed copies of patents, orders for copies of records, transmission of assignments for record…
(a) No correspondence relating to an application should be filed prior to receipt of the assigned application number (i.e., U.S. application number, international application number, or international registration number as appropriate). When correspondence directed to the Patent and Trademark Office concerns a previous…
(a) Date of receipt and Priority Mail Express® date of deposit. Correspondence received in the Patent and Trademark Office is stamped with the date of receipt except as follows: (1) The Patent and Trademark Office is not open for the filing of correspondence on any day that is a Saturday, Sunday, or Federal holiday wit…
(a) Whenever periods of time are specified in this part in days, calendar days are intended. When the day, or the last day fixed by statute or by or under this part for taking any action or paying any fee in the United States Patent and Trademark Office falls on Saturday, Sunday, or on a Federal holiday within the Dist…
(a) Except in the situations enumerated in paragraph (a)(2) of this section or as otherwise expressly excluded in this chapter, correspondence required to be filed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office within a set period of time will be considered as being timely filed if the procedure described in this section is f…
(a)(1) A national application as used in this chapter means either a U.S. application for patent which was filed in the Office under 35 U.S.C. 111, an international application filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty in which the basic national fee under 35 U.S.C. 41(a)(1)(F) has been paid, or an international design…
(a)(1) Any correspondence received by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) that was delivered by the Priority Mail Express® Post Office to Addressee service of the United States Postal Service (USPS) will be considered filed with the USPTO on the date of deposit with the USPS. (2) The date of deposit with USPS…
(a) The specification, drawings, and all papers relating to the file of: A published application; a patent; or a statutory invention registration are open to inspection by the public, and copies may be obtained upon the payment of the fee set forth in § 1.19(b)(2). If an application was published in redacted form pursu…
(a)(1) Separate assignment records are maintained in the United States Patent and Trademark Office for patents and trademarks. The assignment records, relating to original or reissue patents, including digests and indexes (for assignments recorded on or after May 1, 1957), and published patent applications, are open to…
(a) Non-certified copies of patents, and patent application publications and of any records, books, papers, or drawings within the jurisdiction of the United States Patent and Trademark Office and open to the public, will be furnished by the United States Patent and Trademark Office to any person, and copies of other r…
(a) Confidentiality of patent application information. Patent applications that have not been published under 35 U.S.C. 122(b) are generally preserved in confidence pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 122(a). Information concerning the filing, pendency, or subject matter of an application for patent, including status information, an…
(a) Basic fee for filing each application under 35 U.S.C. 111 for an original patent, except design, plant, or provisional applications: Table 1 to Paragraph (a) (b) Basic fee for filing each application under 35 U.S.C. 111 for an original design patent: Table 2 to Paragraph (b) (c) Basic fee for filing each applicatio…
(a) Extension fees pursuant to § 1.136(a), except in provisional applications filed under § 1.53(c): (1) For reply within first month: Table 1 to Paragraph (a)(1) (2) For reply within second month: Table 2 to Paragraph (a)(2) (3) For reply within third month: Table 3 to Paragraph (a)(3) (4) For reply within fourth mont…
(a) Issue fee for issuing each original patent, except a design or plant patent, or for issuing each reissue patent: Table 1 to Paragraph (a) (b)(1) Issue fee for issuing an original design patent: Table 2 to Paragraph (b)(1) (2) [Reserved] (3) Issue fee for issuing an international design application designating the U…
The United States Patent and Trademark Office will supply copies of the following patent-related documents upon payment of the fees indicated. Paper copies will be in black and white unless the original document is in color, a color copy is requested and the fee for a color copy is paid. (a) Uncertified copies of paten…
(a) For providing a certificate of correction for an applicant's mistake (§ 1.323): $172.00 (b) Processing fee for correcting inventorship in a patent (§ 1.324): $172.00 (c) In reexamination proceedings: (1)(i) For filing a request for ex parte reexamination (§ 1.510(a)) having: (A) 40 or fewer pages; (B) Lines that ar…
The Patent and Trademark Office has established the following fees for the services indicated: (a) Registration of attorneys and agents: (1) For admission to examination for registration to practice: (i) Application Fee (non-refundable): $118.00 (ii) Registration examination fee (A) For test administration by commercia…
(a) Patent fees and charges payable to the United States Patent and Trademark Office are required to be paid in advance; that is, at the time of requesting any action by the Office for which a fee or charge is payable, with the exception that under § 1.53 applications for patent may be assigned a filing date without pa…
(a) All payments of money required for United States Patent and Trademark Office fees, including fees for the processing of international applications (§ 1.445), shall be made in U.S. dollars and in the form of a cashier's or certified check, Treasury note, national bank notes, or United States Postal Service money ord…
(a) For the convenience of attorneys, and the general public in paying any fees due, in ordering services offered by the Office, copies of records, etc., deposit accounts may be established in the Patent and Trademark Office upon payment of the fee for establishing a deposit account (§ 1.21(b)(1)). A minimum deposit of…
(a) The Director may refund any fee paid by mistake or in excess of that required. A change of purpose after the payment of a fee, such as when a party desires to withdraw a patent filing for which the fee was paid, including an application, an appeal, or a request for an oral hearing, will not entitle a party to a ref…
(a) Definition of small entities. A small entity as used in this chapter means any party (person, small business concern, or nonprofit organization) under paragraphs (a)(1) through (a)(3) of this section. (1) Person. A person, as used in paragraph (c) of this section, means any inventor or other individual (e.g., an in…