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Abandoned Application:

An application that has been declared abandoned is “dead” and no longer pending. Abandonment occurs under several circumstances. The most common reason is when the USPTO does not receive a response to an Office action letter from an applicant within 6 months from the date the Office action letter was mailed. Another instance is when the USPTO does not receive a statement of use (or request for an extension of time to file a statement of use) from an applicant within 6 months from the issuance of a Notice of Allowance). Applications abandoned for failure to respond to an Office Action or a Notice of Allowance can be revived or reinstated in certain circumstances.

Abandonment:

To relinquish, either by express abandonment or by inaction, a patent application. A patent application becomes abandoned for failure to file a complete and proper reply as the condition of the application may require within the time period.

Abandonment may be either of the invention or of an application. An abandoned application, in accordance with 37 CFR §§ 1.135 and 1.138, is one which is removed from the Office docket of pending applications.

Absolute Novelty:

A requirement of some patent offices (but not the USPTO) that public disclosure or sale of an invention anywhere in the world cannot occur prior to the filing of a valid patent application.

Abstract Of The Disclosure:

A concise statement of the technical disclosure including that which is new in the art to which the invention pertains.

Address For Service:

Each applicant’s mailing or post office address is required to be supplied on the oath or declaration, if not stated in an application data sheet. Applicant’s mailing address means that address at which he or she customarily receives his or her mail. Either applicant’s home or business address is acceptable as the mailing address. The mailing address should include the ZIP Code designation.

Agent (patent):

(May be referred to as a practitioner or representative) – one who is not an attorney but is authorized to act for or in place of the applicant(s) before the Office, that is, an individual who is registered to practice before the Office.

Aggregation:

A ground for rejection of a patent claim that is based on a lack of cooperation among the elements of an invention.

Allegation Of Use:

A sworn statement signed by the applicant or a person authorized to sign on behalf of the applicant attesting to use of the mark in commerce. The allegation of use must include one specimen showing use of the mark in commerce for each class of goods/services included in the application, and the required fee. If filed before the examining attorney approves the mark for publication, the allegation of use is also called an “Amendment to Allege Use”. If filed after issuance of the Notice of Allowance, the allegation of use is also called a Statement of Use. The Amendment to Allege Use and the Statement of Use include the same information, and differ only as to the time when filed. The applicant may not file either an Amendment to Allege Use or a Statement of Use between the date the examining attorney approves the mark for publication and the date of issuance of the notice of allowance.

Allowance:

A patent application meets the conditions for patentability. A Notice of Allowability form PTOL-37 is used whenever an application has been placed in condition for allowance. The date of any communication and/or interview which resulted in the allowance should be included in the notice.

Alpha Subclasses:

In the U.S. patent classification system, subclasses that have an alphabetical suffix.

Amendment:

A change in any part of a patent application made after it is filed. Amendments in applications, other than reissue applications, are made by filing a paper, in compliance with §1.52, directing that specified amendments be made. Amendments are made to correct accidental entry, answer an office action by a United States Patent and Trademark Office Examiner, to correct excess claims, abandonment, after all claims allowed to modify either the body of the application or drawings.

Amendment To Allege Use:

A sworn statement signed by the applicant or a person authorized to sign on behalf of the applicant attesting to use of the mark in commerce. With the AAU, the owner must submit one specimen showing use of the mark in commerce for each class of goods/services included in the application, and the required fee.

American Independent Inventor’s Act of 1999:

An act to amend United States Code title 35, to provide enhanced protection for inventors and innovators, protect patent terms, reduce patent litigation, and for other purposes.

American Inventor’s Protection Act:

The American Inventors Protection Act was enacted November 29, 1999, as Public Law 106-113 and amended by the Intellectual Property and High Technology Technical Amendments Act of 2002.

Anticipation:

A condition that exists when claimed invention is not novel in view of the prior art. To anticipate a claimed invention, a prior art reference must teach every element of the claim.

Annuity:

An annual fee that must be paid to most patent offices to maintain a patent in force. In the U.S., the fee is called a maintenance fee.

Appeal:

A request that a higher authority (in a patent office or a court) review an adverse patentability decision by an Examiner. In the USPTO, an appeal is first taken to the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences. An applicant who wants to contest a final refusal from an examining attorney may file an appeal to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. An appeal is taken by filing a Notice of Appeal and paying the appeal fee within six months of the mailing date of the action from which the appeal is taken. 15 U.S.C. Section 1070; 37 C.F.R. Section 2.142(a).

Appeal Brief:

A written communication submitted to a higher authority reviewing an adverse patentability decision such as a rejection of a claim by an Examiner. In the U.S., an appeal brief must set forth arguments and cite statutes and case law in support of the patentability of the claim or claims under appeal

Appeal, Notice Of:

A written communication to a patent office indicating that an adverse patentability decision by an Examiner will be appealed.

Appellant:

A patent applicant who has appealed the decision of a patent Examiner to a higher authority.

Applicant:

Inventor or joint inventor who are applying for a patent on their own invention, or the person mentioned in 37 1.42, 1.43 or 1.47 who is applying for a patent in place of the inventor.

Application (patent):

A nonprovisional utility patent application must include a specification, including a claim or claims; drawings, when necessary; an oath or declaration; and the prescribed filing fee.

Art:

All subject matter (patents, publications, uses, etc.) bearing on the novelty and nonobviousness of a claimed invention pursuant to 35 U.S.C. Sections 102 and 103.

Assignee:

The person or corporate entity to whom a property right in a patent is legally transferred.

Assignment:

A transfer of ownership of a patent application or patent from one entity (assignee) to another (assignor). Assignments should be recorded with the USPTO Assignment Services Division to maintain clear title to pending patent applications and patents.

Assignor:

The person or corporate entity who assigns or transfers a patent right to another person or corporate entity.

Attorney:

(May be referred to as a practitioner or representative) – an individual who is a member in good standing of the bar of any United States court or the highest court of any State and who is registered to practice before the Office.