MPEP Chapter 700 — Examination
Chapter 700 of the USPTO Manual of Patent Examining Procedure covers examination. It runs to 21 file-level sections and 257 subsections, of which 19 carry substantive text and 2 are marked [Reserved]. 19 of its sections are annotated as structured data, exposing 168 statutes and regulations and 241 cited decisions.
Sections in this chapter
- § 701Statutory Authority for Examination
- § 702Requisites of the Application
- § 702.01Obviously Informal Cases
- § 703[Reserved]
- § 704Search and Requirements for Information
- § 704.01Search
- § 704.10Requirements for Information
- § 704.11What Information May Be Required
- § 704.11(a)Examples of Information Reasonably Required
- § 704.11(b)When May a Requirement for Information Be Made
- § 704.12Replies to a Requirement for Information
- § 704.12(a)Relationship of Requirement for Information to Duty of Disclosure
- § 704.12(b)What Constitutes a Complete Reply
- § 704.12(c)Treatment of an Incomplete Reply
- § 704.13Time Periods for Reply
- § 704.14Making a Requirement for Information
- § 704.14(a)Format of the Requirement
- § 704.14(b)Examiner’s Obligation Following Applicant’s Reply
- § 704.14(c)Petitions to Requirements Under 37 CFR 1.105
- § 704.14(d)Relationship to Information Disclosure Statements
- § 705Patentability Reports
- § 705.01Instructions re Patentability Reports
- § 705.01(a)Nature of P.R., Its Use and Disposal
- § 705.01(b)Sequence of Examination
- § 705.01(c)Counting and Recording P.R.s
- § 705.01(d)[Reserved]
- § 705.01(e)Limitation as to Use
- § 705.01(f)Interviews With Applicants
- § 706Rejection of Claims
- § 706.01Contrasted With Objections
- § 706.02Rejection on Prior Art
- § 706.02(a)[Reserved]
- § 706.02(a)(1)[Reserved]
- § 706.02(a)(2)[Reserved]
- § 706.02(b)[Reserved]
- § 706.02(b)(1)[Reserved]
- § 706.02(b)(2)[Reserved]
- § 706.02(c)[Reserved]
- § 706.02(c)(1)[Reserved]
- § 706.02(c)(2)[Reserved]
- § 706.02(d)[Reserved]
- § 706.02(e)[Reserved]
- § 706.02(f)[Reserved]
- § 706.02(f)(1)[Reserved]
- § 706.02(f)(2)[Reserved]
- § 706.02(g)[Reserved]
- § 706.02(h)[Reserved]
- § 706.02(i)[Reserved]
- § 706.02(j)[Reserved]
- § 706.02(k)[Reserved]
- § 706.02(l)[Reserved]
- § 706.02(l)(1)[Reserved]
- § 706.02(l)(2)[Reserved]
- § 706.02(l)(3)[Reserved]
- § 706.02(m)[Reserved]
- § 706.02(n)[Reserved]
- § 706.03Rejections Not Based on Prior Art
- § 706.03(a)[Reserved]
- § 706.03(b)[Reserved]
- § 706.03(c)[Reserved]
- § 706.03(d)[Reserved]
- § 706.03(e)[Reserved]
- § 706.03(f)- 706.03(j) [Reserved]
- § 706.03(k)[Reserved]
- § 706.03(l)- 706.03(n) [Reserved]
- § 706.03(o)[Reserved]
- § 706.03(p)- 706.03(r) [Reserved]
- § 706.03(s)[Reserved]
- § 706.03(t)[Reserved]
- § 706.03(u)[Reserved]
- § 706.03(v)[Reserved]
- § 706.03(w)[Reserved]
- § 706.03(x)[Reserved]
- § 706.03(y)[Reserved]
- § 706.04Rejection of Previously Allowed Claims
- § 706.05Rejection After Allowance of Application
- § 706.06Rejection of Claims Copied From Patent
- § 706.07Final Rejection
- § 706.07(a)Final Rejection, When Proper on Second Action
- § 706.07(b)Final Rejection, When Proper on First Action
- § 706.07(c)Final Rejection, Premature
- § 706.07(d)Final Rejection, Withdrawal of, Premature
- § 706.07(e)Withdrawal of Final Rejection, General
- § 706.07(f)Time for Reply to Final Rejection
- § 706.07(g)Transitional After-Final Practice
- § 706.07(h)Request for Continued Examination (RCE) Practice
- § 707Examiner’s Letter or Action
- § 707.01Primary Examiner Indicates Action for New Assistant
- § 707.02Applications Up for Third Action and 5-Year Applications
- § 707.05Citation of References
- § 707.05(a)Copies of Cited References
- § 707.05(b)Citation of Related Art and Information by Applicants
- § 707.05(c)Order of Listing
- § 707.05(d)Reference Cited in Subsequent Actions
- § 707.05(e)Data Used in Citing References
- § 707.05(f)Non-Patent Documents Having a Lengthy Citation
- § 707.05(g)Incorrect Citation of References
- § 707.06Citation of Decisions, Orders Memorandums, and Notices
- § 707.07Completeness and Clarity of Examiner’s Action
- § 707.07(a)Complete Action on Formal Matters
- § 707.07(b)- 707.07(c) [Reserved]
- § 707.07(d)Language To Be Used in Rejecting Claims
- § 707.07(e)Note All Outstanding Requirements
- § 707.07(f)Answer All Material Traversed
- § 707.07(g)Piecemeal Examination
- § 707.07(h)Notify of Inaccuracies in Amendment
- § 707.07(i)Each Claim To Be Mentioned in Each Office Action
- § 707.07(j)State When Claims Are Allowable
- § 707.07(k)Numbering Paragraphs
- § 707.07(l)Comment on Examples
- § 707.08Reviewing and Initialing by Assistant Examiner
- § 707.09Signing by Primary or Other Authorized Examiner
- § 707.10Entry
- § 707.11Date
- § 707.12Mailing
- § 707.13Returned Office Action
- § 708Order of Examination
- § 708.01List of Special Cases
- § 708.02Petition To Make Special
- § 708.02(a)Accelerated Examination
- § 708.02(b)Prioritized Examination
- § 708.02(c)Patent Prosecution Highway Program
- § 708.03Examiner Tenders Resignation
- § 709Suspension of Action
- § 709.01Overlapping Applications by Same Applicant or Owned by Same Assignee
- § 710Period for Reply
- § 710.01Statutory Period
- § 710.01(a)Statutory Period, How Computed
- § 710.02Shortened Statutory Period and Time Limit Actions Computed
- § 710.02(a)[Reserved]
- § 710.02(b)Shortened Statutory Period: Situations in Which Used
- § 710.02(c)Specified Time Limits: Situations in Which Used
- § 710.02(d)Difference Between Shortened Statutory Periods for Reply and Specified Time Limits
- § 710.02(e)Extension of Time
- § 710.03[Reserved]
- § 710.04Two Periods Running
- § 710.04(a)Copying Patent Claims
- § 710.05Period Ending on Saturday, Sunday, or a Federal Holiday
- § 710.06Situations When Reply Period Is Reset or Restarted
- § 711Abandonment of Patent Application
- § 711.01Express or Formal Abandonment
- § 711.02Failure To Take Required Action During Statutory Period
- § 711.02(a)Insufficiency of Reply
- § 711.02(b)Special Situations Involving Abandonment
- § 711.02(c)Termination of Proceedings
- § 711.03Reconsideration of Holding of Abandonment; Revival
- § 711.03(a)Holding Based on Insufficiency of Reply
- § 711.03(b)Holding Based on Failure To Reply Within Period
- § 711.03(c)Petitions Relating to Abandonment
- § 711.03(d)Examiner’s Statement on Petition To Set Aside Examiner’s Holding
- § 711.04Public Access to Abandoned Applications
- § 711.04(a)Date of Abandonment
- § 711.04(b)Ordering of Patented and Abandoned Files
- § 711.04(c)Notifying Applicants of Abandonment
- § 711.05Letter of Abandonment Received After Application Is Allowed
- § 711.06Abstracts, Abbreviatures, and Defensive Publications
- § 711.06(a)Citation and Use of Abstracts, Abbreviatures, and Defensive Publications as References
- § 712[Reserved]
- § 713Interviews
- § 713.01General Policy, How Conducted
- § 713.02Interviews Prior to First Official Action
- § 713.03Interview for “Sounding Out” Examiner Not Permitted
- § 713.04Substance of Interview Must Be Made of Record
- § 713.05Interviews Prohibited or Granted, Special Situations
- § 713.06No Inter Partes Questions Discussed Ex Parte
- § 713.07Exposure of Other Cases
- § 713.08Demonstration, Exhibits, Models
- § 713.09Interviews Between Final Rejection and Notice of Appeal
- § 713.10Interview Preceding Filing Amendment Under 37 CFR 1.312
- § 714Amendments, Applicant’s Action
- § 714.01Signatures to Amendments
- § 714.01(a)Unsigned or Improperly Signed Amendment
- § 714.01(b)[Reserved]
- § 714.01(c)Signed by Attorney or Agent Not of Record
- § 714.01(d)Amendment Signed by Applicant but Not by Attorney or Agent of Record
- § 714.01(e)Amendments Before First Office Action
- § 714.02Must Be Fully Responsive
- § 714.03Amendments Not Fully Responsive, Action To Be Taken
- § 714.03(a)Supplemental Amendment
- § 714.04Claims Presented in Amendment With No Attempt To Point Out Patentable Novelty
- § 714.05Examiner Should Immediately Review
- § 714.06[Reserved]
- § 714.07Amendments Not in Permanent Ink
- § 714.10Claims Added in Excess of Claims Previously Paid For
- § 714.11Amendment Filed During Interference Proceedings
- § 714.12Amendments and Other Replies After Final Rejection or Action
- § 714.13Amendments and Other Replies After Final Rejection or Action, Procedure Followed
- § 714.14Amendments After Allowance of All Claims
- § 714.15Amendment Received in Technology Center After Mailing of Notice of Allowance
- § 714.16Amendment After Notice of Allowance, 37 CFR 1.312
- § 714.16(a)Amendments Under 37 CFR 1.312, Copied Patent Claims
- § 714.16(b)Amendments Under 37 CFR 1.312 Filed With a Motion Under 37 CFR 41.208
- § 714.16(c)Amendments Under 37 CFR 1.312, Additional Claims
- § 714.16(d)Amendments Under 37 CFR 1.312, Handling
- § 714.16(e)Amendments Under 37 CFR 1.312, Entry in Part
- § 714.17Amendment Filed After the Period for Reply Has Expired
- § 714.18Entry of Amendments
- § 714.19List of Amendments, Entry Denied
- § 714.20List of Amendments Entered in Part
- § 714.21Amendments Inadvertently Entered, No Legal Effect
- § 714.25Discourtesy of Applicant or Attorney
- § 715Swearing Behind a Reference — Affidavit or Declaration Under 37 CFR 1.131(a)
- § 715.0137 CFR 1.131(a) Affidavits Versus 37 CFR 1.132 Affidavits
- § 715.01(a)Reference Is a Patent or Published Application Naming Different Inventive Entity With at Least One Common Inventor
- § 715.01(b)Reference and Application Have Common Assignee
- § 715.01(c)Reference Is Publication of Inventor’s Own Invention
- § 715.01(d)Activities Applied Against the Claims
- § 715.02How Much of the Claimed Invention Must Be Shown, Including the General Rule as to Generic Claims
- § 715.03Genus-Species, Practice Relative to Cases Where Predictability Is in Question
- § 715.04Who May Make Affidavit or Declaration Under 37 CFR 1.131(a); Formal Requirements of Affidavits and Declarations
- § 715.05U.S. Patent or Application Publication Claiming Same Invention
- § 715.06[Reserved]
- § 715.07Facts and Documentary Evidence
- § 715.07(a)Diligence
- § 715.07(b)Interference Testimony Sometimes Used
- § 715.07(c)Acts Relied Upon Must Have Been Carried Out in This Country or a NAFTA or WTO Member Country
- § 715.07(d)Disposition of Exhibits
- § 715.08Decided by Primary Examiner
- § 715.09Timely Presentation
- § 715.10Review of Affidavit or Declaration for Evidence of Prior Public Use or Sale or Failure to Disclose Best Mode
- § 716Affidavits or Declarations Under 37 CFR 1.132 and Other Evidence Traversing Rejections
- § 716.01Generally Applicable Criteria
- § 716.01(a)Objective Evidence of Nonobviousness
- § 716.01(b)Nexus Requirement and Evidence of Nonobviousness
- § 716.01(c)Probative Value of Objective Evidence
- § 716.01(d)Weighing Objective Evidence
- § 716.02Allegations of Unexpected Results
- § 716.02(a)Evidence Must Show Unexpected Results
- § 716.02(b)Burden on Applicant
- § 716.02(c)Weighing Evidence of Expected and Unexpected Results
- § 716.02(d)Unexpected Results Commensurate in Scope With Claimed Invention
- § 716.02(e)Comparison With Closest Prior Art
- § 716.02(f)Advantages Disclosed or Inherent
- § 716.02(g)[Reserved]
- § 716.03Commercial Success
- § 716.03(a)Commercial Success Commensurate in Scope With Claimed Invention
- § 716.03(b)Commercial Success Derived From Claimed Invention
- § 716.04Long-Felt Need and Failure of Others
- § 716.05Skepticism of Experts
- § 716.06Copying
- § 716.07Inoperability of References
- § 716.08Utility and Operability of Applicant’s Disclosure
- § 716.09Sufficiency of Disclosure
- § 716.10Attribution Affidavit or Declaration to Overcome Rejection Under Pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 or 103
- § 717Prior Art Exceptions under AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(1) and (2)
- § 717.01Affidavit or Declaration Under 37 CFR 1.130
- § 717.01(a)Declarations or Affidavits under 37 CFR 1.130(a) – Attribution
- § 717.01(a)(1)Evaluation of Declarations or Affidavits under 37 CFR 1.130(a)
- § 717.01(b)Declarations or Affidavits under 37 CFR 1.130(b) – Prior Public Disclosure
- § 717.01(b)(1)Evaluation of Declarations or Affidavits under 37 CFR 1.130(b)
- § 717.01(b)(2)Determining if the Subject Matter of the Intervening Disclosure is the Same as the Subject Matter of the Inventor–Originated Prior Public Disclosure
- § 717.01(c)Who May Make Affidavit or Declaration; Formal Requirements of Affidavits and Declarations
- § 717.01(d)U.S. Patent or Application Publication Claiming Same Invention
- § 717.01(e)Passed Upon (or Decided by) by Primary Examiner
- § 717.01(f)Seasonable (or Timely) Presentation
- § 717.02Prior Art Exception for Commonly Owned or Joint Research Agreement Subject Matter under AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C)
- § 717.02(a)Invoking the Prior Art Exception under 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C)
- § 717.02(b)Evaluating Whether the Prior Art Exception under AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) is Properly Invoked
- § 717.02(c)Examination Procedure With Respect to the Prior Art Exception under AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C)
- § 717.02(d)Form Paragraphs With Respect to the Prior Art Exception under AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C)
- § 718Affidavit or Declaration to Disqualify Commonly Owned Patent as Prior Art, 37 CFR 1.131(c)
- § 719File Wrapper
- § 720Public Use Proceedings
- § 724Trade Secret, Proprietary, and Protective Order Materials
- § 724.01Completeness of the Patent File Wrapper
- § 724.02Method of Submitting Trade Secret, Proprietary, and/or Protective Order Materials
- § 724.03Types of Trade Secret, Proprietary, and/or Protective Order Materials Submitted Under MPEP § 724.02
- § 724.04Office Treatment and Handling of Materials Submitted Under MPEP § 724.02
- § 724.04(a)Materials Submitted in an Application Covered by 35 U.S.C. 122
- § 724.04(b)Materials Submitted in Reissue Applications Open to the Public Under 37 CFR 1.11(b)
- § 724.04(c)Materials Submitted in Reexamination File Open to the Public Under 37 CFR 1.11(d)
- § 724.05Petition To Expunge Information or Copy of Papers in Application File
- § 724.06Handling of Petitions To Expunge Information or Copy of Papers in Application File