Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP)
Change Summaryfor the Ninth Edition, Revision 01.2024Title PageManual of PATENT EXAMINING PROCEDUREForewordMPEP ForewordIntroductionConstitutional Basis0100Secrecy, Access, National Security, and Foreign Filing0200Types and Status of Application; Benefit and Priority Claims0300Ownership and Assignment0400Representative of Applicant or Owner0500Receipt and Handling of Mail and Papers0600Parts, Form, and Content of Application0700Examination of Applications0800Restriction in Applications Filed Under 35 U.S.C. 111; Double Patenting0900Prior Art, Search, Classification, and Routing1000Matters Decided by Various U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Officials1100Statutory Invention Registration (SIR); Pre-Grant Publication (PGPub) and Preissuance Submissions1200Appeal1300Allowance and Issue1400Correction of Patents1500Design Patents1600Plant Patents1700Miscellaneous1800Patent Cooperation Treaty1900Protest2000Duty of Disclosure2100Patentability2200Citation of Prior Art and Ex Parte Reexamination of Patents2300Interference and Derivation Proceedings2400Biotechnology2500Maintenance Fees2600Optional Inter Partes Reexamination2700Patent Terms, Adjustments, and Extensions2800Supplemental Examination2900International Design ApplicationsI[Reserved]IIList of Decisions CitedLPatent LawsRPatent RulesTPatent Cooperation Treaty and Regulations Under the PCTAIAdministrative Instructions Under the PCTPParis ConventionMPEPSubject Matter IndexForm-ParagraphBook