Manual ofPATENT

EXAMININGPROCEDURE

Original Ninth Edition, March 2014

U.S. DEPARTMENT OFCOMMERCE

United States Patent andTrademark Office

March 2014

AVAILABILITY

The paperbound format of the Manual was discontinued by the government printing office effective December13, 2012. The Manual is available electronically in html and PDF renderings on the USPTO Web site athttp://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/index/htm. The Office also provides a search engine for searchingthe full text of the Manual at http://mpep.uspto.gov/RDMS.Most hyperlinks from the Manual to internal and external Web sites are active. For particularly long Web siteaddresses (URLs), an extra space has been added to the rendered text for readability (especially in the PDFrendering). Clicking on a hyperlink will direct the user to the referenced Web site because the reference linkdata in the source document includes the URL without the extra space; however, copying text that includes theextra space and thereafter pasting it in a browser will result in an error.Previous editions and revisions of the Manual are available from the MPEP Archives page on the USPTO Website at http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/old/index.htm.

EXPLANATION OF NOTATIONS

Revision Date Indicator. Each section within an MPEP Chapter includes a revision date indicator, e.g.,[R-11.2013]. The numbers within the bracket indicate the date the revision cycle for that section was completed,which would be November 2013 in the example above. Note that the publication date of the Manual as indicatedon the title page and on the bottom of the PDF renderings may be later than the date the revision cycle wascompleted because of the time required for clearance processes.Express Mail. Effective July 28, 2013, the United States Postal Service (USPS) changed the name of ExpressMail to Priority Mail Express. All characteristics of the Priority Mail Express service are the same as thoseof the former Express Mail service (although the mailing labels differ). References to Express Mail orExpress Mail from the USPS in accordance with 37 CFR 1.10 throughout this Manual should be construed asapplicable to the Priority Mail Express service of the USPS on or after July 28, 2013."Pre-AIA." Where the phrase "pre-AIA" is associated with a law or rule, it means that version which was inforce before the date of the change necessitated by the AIA.Five Asterisks. The use of five asterisks in the body of the laws, rules, treaties, and administrative instructionsindicates a portion of the law, rule, treaty, or administrative instruction which was not reproduced.

First Edition, November 1949Second Edition, November 1953Third Edition, November 1961Fourth Edition, June 1979Fifth Edition, August 1983Sixth Edition, January 1995Seventh Edition, July 1998Eighth Edition, August 2001Ninth Edition, March 2014[R-11.2013]

March 2014

MPEP TOCSummary of ChangesTitle PageForewordIntroductionChapter 100 Secrecy, Access, National Security, and Foreign FilingChapter 200 Types, CrossNoting, and Status of ApplicationChapter 300 Ownership and AssignmentChapter 400 Representative of Applicant or OwnerChapter 500 Receipt and Handling of Mail and PapersChapter 600 Parts, Form, and Content of ApplicationChapter 700 Examination of ApplicationsChapter 800 Restriction in Applications Filed Under 35 U.S.C. 111; Double PatentingChapter 900 Prior Art, Classification, and SearchChapter 1000 Matters Decided by Various U.S. Patent and Trademark Office OfficialsChapter 1100 Statutory Invention Registration (SIR); PreGrant Publication (PGPub) and Preissuance SubmissionsChapter 1200 AppealChapter 1300 Allowance and IssueChapter 1400 Correction of PatentsChapter 1500 Design PatentsChapter 1600 Plant PatentsChapter 1700 MiscellaneousChapter 1800 Patent Cooperation TreatyChapter 1900 ProtestChapter 2000 Duty of DisclosureChapter 2100 PatentabilityChapter 2200 Citation of Prior Art and Ex Parte Reexamination of PatentsChapter 2300 Interference ProceedingsChapter 2400 BiotechnologyChapter 2500 Maintenance FeesChapter 2600 Optional Inter Partes ReexaminationChapter 2700 Patent Terms and ExtensionsChapter 2800 Supplemental ExaminationAppendix I ReservedAppendix II List of Decisions CitedAppendix L Patent LawsAppendix R Patent RulesAppendix T Patent Cooperation TreatyAppendix AI Administrative Instructions Under the PCTAppendix P Paris ConventionSubject Matter IndexForm Paragraph Book

Page 1