You may recall from our March 6, 2014 Newsletter that pre-issuance submissions allow third parties to submit prior art patents, published applications, or printed publications of potential relevance to pending patent applications, directly to the USPTO.  This is a substantial change from the prior regulations, and allows third parties to put additional art and supporting arguments in front of the examiner before a final decision on patentability issues.  It is important that patent applicants and potential challengers understand how this works.

To that end, the USPTO has just announced the release of a new landing page on the USPTO website (www.uspto.gov) to facilitate the third-party pre-issuance submission process.  This new landing page is a spin-off of the AIA micro-site and houses information exclusively devoted to pre-issuance submissions.  While it remains prudent to seek professional advice prior to any formal submission to the patent office, we expect this information will explain the process and may illuminate for some parties, opportunities for possible submissions.  The page is located at:

http://www.uspto.gov/patents/init_events/preissuance_submissions.jsp

Click here to learn more about challenging a competitor's pending patent application; or anticipating submissions in your own pending applications.  Please contact us directly by email, [email protected] or by phone (603)886-6100 to discuss your particular concerns or interests.

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