901.05 Foreign Patent Documents [R-3]
All foreign patents, published applications, and any other published derivative material containing portions or summaries of the contents of published or unpublished patents (e.g., abstracts) which have been disseminated to the public are available to U.S. examiners. See MPEP § 901.06(a), paragraphs I.C. and IV.C. In general, a foreign patent, the contents of its application, or segments of its content should not be cited as a reference until its date of patenting or publication can be confirmed by an examiner’s review of a copy of the document. Examiners should remember that in some countries, there is a delay between the date of the patent grant and the date of publication.
Information pertaining to those countries from which the most patent publications are received is given in the following sections and in MPEP § 901.05(a). Additional information can be obtained from the Scientific and Technical Information Center.
See MPEP § 707.05(e) for data used in citing foreign references.
I. PLACEMENT OF FOREIGN PATENT EQUIVALENTS IN THE SEARCH FILES
There are approximately 25 countries in which the specifications of patents are published in printed form either before or after a patent is granted.
UNTIL OCTOBER 1, 1995, THE FOLLOWING PRACTICE WAS USED IN PLACING FOREIGN PATENT EQUIVALENTS IN THE SEARCH FILES:
When the same invention is disclosed by a common inventor(s) and patented in more than one country, these patents are called a family of patents. Whenever a family of patents or published patent disclosures existed, the Office selected from a prioritized list of countries a single family member for placement in the examiners’ search file and selected the patent of the country with the earliest patent date. If the U.S. was one of the countries granting a patent in the "family" of patents, none of the foreign "equivalents" was placed in the U.S. search files. See paragraph III., below. However, foreign patents or published patent disclosures within a common family which issued prior to the final highest priority patent (e.g., U.S.) may have been placed in the U.S. paper search files and these copies were generally not removed when the higher priority patent was added to the U.S. search files at a later date.
Beginning in October 1995, paper copies of foreign patents were no longer classified into the U.S. Classification System by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. See MPEP § 901.05(c) for search of recently issued foreign patents.
II. OVERVIEW OF FOREIGN PATENT LAWS
This section includes some general information on foreign patent laws and summarizes particular features and their terminology. Some additional details on the most commonly cited foreign patent publications may be found under the individual country in paragraph V., below. Examiners should recall that, in contrast to the practice in many other countries, under U.S. patent law a number of different events all occur on the issue date of a U.S. patent. These events include the following:
- (A) a patent document, the "letters patent'' which grants and thereby creates the legal rights conferred by a patent, is executed and sent to the applicant;
- (B) the patent rights come into existence;
- (C) the patent rights can be exercised;
- (D) the specification of the patent becomes available to the public;
- (E) the patented file becomes available to the public;
- (F) the specification is published in printed form; and
- (G) an issue of an official journal, the Official Gazette, containing an announcement of the patent and a claim, is published.
In most foreign countries, various ones of these events occur on different days and some of them may never occur at all.
The following list catalogs some of the most significant foreign variations from U.S. practices:
A. Applicant
In most countries, the owner of the prospective rights, derived from the inventor, may also apply for a patent in the owner’s name as applicant; in a few, other persons may apply as well or be joined as coapplicants. Hence, applicant is not synonymous with inventor, and the applicant may be a company. Some countries require the inventors’ names to be given and regularly print them on the published copies. Other countries may sometimes print the inventors’ names only when available or when requested to do so.
B. Application
The word "application" is commonly used in the U.S. to refer to the entire set of papers filed when seeking a patent. However, in many countries and in PCT cases, the word application refers only to the paper, usually a printed form, which is to be "accompanied by" or have "attached" to it certain other papers, namely a specification, drawings when necessary, claims, and perhaps other papers. Unless it is otherwise noted in the following portions of this section, the term "application" refers to the entire set of papers filed.
C. Publication of Contents of Pending Applications
In general, pending applications are confidential until a certain stage in the proceedings (e.g., upon patent grant), or until a certain date (e.g., 18 months after filing), as may be specified in a particular law.
Many countries have adopted the practice of publishing the specification, drawing, or claims of pending applications. In these countries, the publication of the contents of the application occurs at a certain time, usually 18 months after filing. The applicant is given certain provisional rights upon publication even though examination has not been completed or in some cases has not even begun at the time of publication.
This publication may take either of two forms. In the first form, some countries publish a notice giving certain particulars in their official journal, and thereafter, any one may see the papers at the patent office or order copies. This procedure is referred to as "laying open for public inspection." There is no printed publication of the specification, although an abstract may be published in printed form. If anyone can inspect or obtain copies of the laid open application, then it is sufficiently accessible to the public to constitute a "publication" within the meaning of 35 U.S.C. 102(a) and (b). The full application is thus available as prior art as of either the date of publication of its notice or its laying open to public inspection if this is a later date. In re Wyer, 655 F.2d 221, 210 USPQ 790 (CCPA 1981). See MPEP § 2127, paragraph III.
In the second form, several other countries publish the specifications of pending applications in printed form at a specified time, usually 18 months after filing. These documents, of course, constitute references as printed publications.
D. Administrative Systems
Patent law administration varies from country to country. In some countries, all that is undertaken is an inspection of the papers to determine if they are in proper form. Other countries perform an examination of the merits on the basis of an extensive search of the prior art, as is done in the U.S. The former are referred to as nonexamining or registration countries, although some systems allow for a rejection on matters apparent on the face of the papers, such as matters of form or statutory subject matter.
Of the examining countries, the extent of the material searched prior to issue varies greatly. Only a few countries include both their own patents and a substantial amount of foreign patent material and nonpatent publications in their search files. Some countries specifically limit the search by rule, or lack of facilities, to their own patents with very little or no additional material. An increasing number of countries are requiring applicants to give information concerning references cited in corresponding applications filed in other countries.
E. Opposition
Some examining countries consider participation by the public an inherent feature of their examining system. When an application is found to be allowable by the examiner, it is "published" for opposition. Then there is a period, usually 3 or 4 months, within which members of the public can oppose the grant of the patent. In some countries, the opposing party can be any person or company. In other countries, only those parties who are affected by the outcome can participate in the opposition. The opposition is an inter partes proceeding and the opposing party can ordinarily raise any ground on the basis of which a patent would be refused or held invalid, including any applicable references.
The publication for opposition may take the form of a laying open of the application by the publication of a notice in the official journal with the application being then open to public inspection and the obtaining of copies. Otherwise, publication occurs by the issue of the applications in printed form. Either way, these published documents constitute printed publications which are available as references under 35 U.S.C. 102(a) and 102(b).
F. The Patent
Practices and terminology vary worldwide regarding patents. In some countries, there is no "letters patent" document which creates and grants the rights. In other countries, the examiner grants the patent by signing the required paper. In a few countries, the patent is granted by operation of law after certain events have occurred. The term "granting the patent" is used here for convenience, but it should be noted that 35 U.S.C. 102(a) and 102(b) do not use this terminology.
A list of granted patents is ordinarily published in each country’s official journal and some of these countries also print an abstract or claims at or after the granting date. Not all countries publish the granted patent. Where the specifications of granted patents are issued in printed form, publication seldom occurs simultaneously with the day of grant; instead, publication occurs a short time thereafter. There also are a few countries in which publication does not take place until several years after the grant.
The length of time for which the patent is enforceable (the patent term) varies from country to country. The term of the patent may start as of the grant of the patent, or as of the filing date of the application.
Most countries require the payment of periodic fees to maintain a patent in force. These fees often start a few years after filing and increase progressively during the term of the patent. If these fees are not paid within the time allowed, the patent lapses and is no longer in force. This lapsing does not affect the use of the patent as a reference.
G. Patents of Addition
Some countries issue patents of addition, which should be identified as such, and when separately numbered as in France, the number of the addition patent should be cited. "Patents of addition" generally cover improvements of a patented parent invention and can be obtained by the owner of the parent invention. Inventiveness in relation to the parent invention need not be demonstrated and the term is governed by the term of the parent patent.
III. CORRESPONDING SPECIFICATIONS IN A FAMILY OF PATENTS
Since a separate patent must be obtained in each country in which patent rights are desired (except for EP, the European Patent Convention, AP, the African Regional Industrial Property Organization, OA, African Intellectual Property Organization, GC, Patent Office of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, and EA, Eurasian Patent Office, whose members issue a common patent), there may be a large number of patents issued in different countries for the same invention. This group of patents is referred to as a family of patents.
All of the countries listed in paragraph V. below are parties to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and provide for the right of priority. If an application is filed in one of these countries, an application for the same invention thereafter filed in another country, within 1 year of the filing of the first application, will be entitled to the benefit of the filing date of the first application on fulfilling various conditions. See MPEP § 201.13. The patents or published specifications of the countries of later filing are required to specify that priority has been claimed and to give the country, date, and number of the priority application. This data serves the purpose, among others, of enabling any patent based on the priority application to be easily located.
In general, the specification of the second application is identical in substance to the specification of the first. In many instances, the second, if in another language, is simply a translation of the first with perhaps some variation in purely formal parts. But in a minority of cases, the two may not be identical. For instance, sometimes two applications filed in one country are combined into one second application which is filed in another country. Alternatively, a second application could be filed for only part of the disclosure of the priority application. The second application may have the relationship to the first which we refer to as a continuation-in-part (e.g., the second application includes additional subject matter discovered after the first was filed). In some instances, the second application could have its disclosure diminished or increased, to meet the requirements or practices of the second country.
Duplicate or substantially duplicate versions of a foreign language specification, in English or some other language known to the examiner, can sometimes be found. It is possible to cite a foreign language specification as a reference, while at the same time citing an English language version of the specification with a later date as a convenient translation if the latter is in fact a translation. Questions as to content in such cases must be settled based on the specification which was used as the reference.
If a U.S. patent being considered as a reference claims the priority of a previously filed foreign application, it may be desirable to determine if the foreign application has issued or has been published, to see if there is an earlier date. For example, it has occurred that an examiner rejected claims on the basis of a U.S. patent and the applicant filed affidavits to overcome the filing date of the reference; the affidavits were controversial and the case went to appeal, with an extensive brief and an examiner’s answer having been filed. After all this work, somebody noticed that the U.S. patent reference claimed the priority of a foreign application filed in a country in which patents were issued fairly soon, checked the foreign application, and discovered that the foreign patent had not only been issued, but also published in printed form, more than 1 year prior to the filing date of the application on appeal.
If a foreign patent or specification claims the priority of a U.S. application, it can be determined whether the latter is abandoned, still pending, or patented. Even if the U.S. case is or becomes patented, however, the foreign documents may still be useful as supplying an earlier printed publication date.
If a foreign patent or specification claims the priority of an application in another foreign country, it may sometimes be desirable to check the latter to determine if the subject matter was patented or published at an earlier date. As an example, if a British specification being considered as a reference claims the priority of an application filed in Belgium, it is known at once that a considerably earlier effective date can be established, if needed, because Belgian patents issue soon after filing. In addition, if the application referred to was filed in one of the countries which publish applications in printed form 18 months after filing, the subject matter of the application will be available as a printed publication as of the 18 month publishing date. These remarks obviously also apply to a U.S. patent claiming a foreign priority.
The determination of whether a foreign patent has been issued or the application published is a comparatively simple matter for some countries, but for some it is quite laborious and time-consuming . Sources for this data which are not maintained by the Office do exist and can be utilized for locating corresponding patents. One source is the Derwent World Patents Index (DWPI) and INPADOC. Additionally,Chemical Abstracts publishes abstracts of patents in the chemical arts from a large number of countries. Only one patent or published specification from a family is abstracted in full and any related family members issued or published are cross-referenced. Chemical Abstracts is available online via commercial databases or on CD-ROM in the Scientific and Technical Information Center (STIC). To get access to Chemical Abstracts, examiners should contact the STIC facility – Electronic Information Center or Library – in their Technology Center.
When an application is filed outside the Paris Convention year from an earlier application, the later application may not refer to the first application. It is hence possible that there will be duplicate specifications published without any indication revealing the fact. These may be detected when the two copies come together in the same subclass. Because the later application is filed outside the convention year, the earlier application may be prior art to the latter if it has been published or issued.
IV. VALIDITY OF DATES DISPLAYED ON FACE OF FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
The examiner is not required to prove either the date or the occurrence of events specified on specifications of patents or applications, or in official journals, of foreign patent offices which the Office has in its possession. In a court action, certified copies of the Office copies of these documents constitute prima facie evidence in view of 28 U.S.C. 1745. An applicant is entitled to show the contrary by competent evidence, but this question seldom arises.
The date of receipt of copies by the Office, as shown by Office records or stamped on the copies, need only to be stated by the examiner, when necessary.
V. NOTES ON INDIVIDUAL COUNTRIES
The following table gives some data concerning the published patent material of a number of countries to assist in their use and citation as references. The countries listed were selected based on the current level of material provided for the examiner search files. Together, the countries and organizations account for over 98% of the patent material that was added to the examiner files each year. This table reflects only the most current patent office practice for each foreign country specified and is not applicable for many older foreign patent documents. The STIC staff can help examiners obtain data related to any documents not covered by this table. The citation dates listed in the following table are not necessarily the oldest possible dates. Sometimes an earlier effective date, which is not readily apparent from the face of the document, is available. If an earlier date is important to a rejection, the examiner should consult STIC staff, who will attempt to obtain further information regarding the earliest possible effective date.
How To Use Table
Each horizontal row of boxes contains information on one or more distinct patent documents from a specified country available as a reference under 35 U.S.C. 102(a) and 102(b). If several distinct patent documents are included within a common box of a row, these documents are related to each other and are merely separate documents published at different stages of the same invention’s patenting process. Usually, this related group of documents includes a published application which ripens into an issued patent. Within each box of the second column of each row, the top listed document of a related group is the one that is "published" first (e.g., made available for public inspection by laying open application, or application printed and disseminated to the public). Once an examiner determines the country or organization publishing the documents, the name of the document can be located in the second column of the table and the examiner can determine if a document from the related group containing the same or similar disclosure having an earlier date is available as a reference. Usually, the documents within a related group have identical disclosures; sometimes, however, there are differences in the claims or minor differences in the specification. Therefore, examiners should always verify that the earlier related document also includes the subject matter necessary for the rejection. Some countries issue more than one type of patent and for clarity, in these situations, separate rows are provided for each type.
| ISSUING/ PUBLISHING COUNTRY OR ORGANIZATION | DOCUMENT NAME IN LANGUAGE OF ISSUING COUNTRY (TYPE OF DOCUMENT) | FOREIGN LANGUAGE NAME DESIGNATING THE DATE USED FOR CITATION PURPOSES (TYPE OF DATE) | GENERAL COMMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| EP | |||
| European Patent Office | European patent application | Date application made available to public | Printing of application occurs 18 months after priority date. |
| European patent specification | Date published | EP dates are in day/month/year order. | |
| New European patent specification (above specification amended) | Date published | ||
| FR | |||
| France | Demande de brevet d’invention (patent application) | Disposition du public de la demande (date of laying open application)/date published | Date of laying open the application is the earliest possible date. This usually occurs 18 months after the filing or priority date but can occur earlier at applicant’s request. The application is printed a short time after being laid open. |
| Brevet d’invention (patent) | Disposition du public du brevet d’invention (date of publication of the notice of patent grant) | ||
| FR dates are in day/month/year order | |||
| FR | |||
| France | Demande de certificat d’utilite (utility certificate application 1st level publication) | Disposition du public de la demande (date published) | |
| Certificat d’utilite (utility certificate, 2nd publication) | Disposition du public du certificat d’utilite (date published) | ||
| DE Germany | Offenlegungschrift (unexamined patent application) | Offenlegungstag (date application printed) | Patentschrift are printed (up to four different times) after examination and at various stages of opposition. |
| Patentschrift (examined patent) | Veræfentlichungstag der patenterteilung (date printed) | DE dates are in day/month/year order | |
| DE | |||
| Germany | Patentschrift (Ausschließungspatent) (exclusive type patent based on former East German application and published in accordance with E. German laws) | First printing coded "DD" (date of first publication before examination as to novelty) | Several more printings (up to four) occur as examination proceeds and patent is granted. Separate DD numbering series is used. |
| DE | |||
| Germany | Patentschrift (Wirtschaft-patent) (economic type patent published in accordance with East German laws) | First printing coded "DD" (date of first printing before examination as to novelty) | Another printing occurs after examination. Separate DD numbering series is used. |
| DE | |||
| Germany | Gebrauchsmuster (utility model or petty patent) | Eintragungstag (date laid open after registration as a patent) | Copy is supplied only on request. |
| Bekanntmachung im patentblatt (date published for public) | Published from No. DE-GM 1 186 500J. | ||
| JP Japan | Kôkai Tokkyo kôhô (unexamined patent application) Kôhyo Tokkyo kôhô (unexamined patent application based on international application) | Upper right corner beneath number (date laid open and printed) | INID codes (41)-(47) include first date listed in terms of the year of the Emperor. To convert yrs. prior 1989, add 1925. To convert yrs. after 1988, add 1988. |
| Tokkyo kôhô (examined patent application) | Upper right corner beneath number (date laid open and printed; 1st publication when Kôkai Tokkyo kôhô or Kôhyo Tokkyo kôhô not published) | Newer documents also include second date following the first given in OUR Gregorian Calendar in year/month/day sequence in Arabic numerals intermixed with their equivalent JP characters. | |
| JP Japan | Tokkyo shinpan seikyû kôkoku (corrected patent specification) | Upper right corner beneath number (date laid open and printed) | |
| JP Japan | Kôkai jitsuyô shin-an kôhô (unexamined utility model application) or Kôhyo jitsuyô shin-an kôhô (unexamined utility model application based on international) | Upper right corner beneath number (date laid open and printed) | |
| Jitsuyô shin-an kôhô (examined utility model application) | Upper right corner beneath number (date laid open and printed; 1st publication when Kôkai or Kôhyo not published) | ||
| JP Japan | Tôroku jitsuyô shin-an shinpan seikyû kôkoku (corrected registered utility model) | ||
| JP Japan | Isyô kôhô (registered design application) | ||
| RU Russian Federation | Zayavka Na Izobretenie (unexamined application for invention) Patent Na Izobreteniye (Patent) | Date application printed (1st publication) Date printed (normally 2nd publication, but 1st publication when application not published) | |
| RU Russian Federation | Svidetelstvo Na Poleznuyu Model (utility model) | Supplied upon request only | |
| RU Russian Federation | Patent Na Promishlenniy Obrazec (design patent) | Supplied upon request only | |
| GB United Kingdom | Published patent application (searched, but unexamined) Patent Specification (granted examined patent) | (date of printing the application) (date of printing) | |
| GB | |||
| United Kingdom | Amended or Corrected Patent Specification (amended granted patent) | (date of printing) | |
| WO | |||
| World Intellectual Property Organization | International application (PCT patent application) | (date of printing the application) | |
901.05(a) Citation Data [R-3]
Foreign patent publications that use Arabic and Roman numerals in lieu of names to indicate the date show in order the day, month, and year, or alternatively, the year, month, and day. Roman numerals always refer to the month.
Japanese patent application publications show the date in Arabic numerals by indicating in order the year of the reign of the Emperor, the month, and the day. To convert the Japanese year of the Emperor to the Western calendar year, for years prior to 1989, add 1925 to the JAPANESE YEAR. For example: 40.3.6 = March 6, 1965. For years after 1988, add 1988 to the JAPANESE YEAR.
Alphabetical lists of the foreign language names of the months and of the names and abbreviations for the United States of America follow. The lists set forth only selected commonly encountered foreign language names and do not include those which are similar to the English language names and thus easily translatable.
In using the lists, identification of the foreign language (except for Russian) is not necessary. The translation into English is ascertained by alphabetically locating the foreign language name on the list.
The list of the foreign language names and abbreviations for the United States is useful in determining whether a foreign language patent publication indicates the filing of a similar application in the United States.
I. ALPHABETICAL LIST OF SELECTED FOREIGN LANGUAGE NAMES OF MONTHS
| agosto | August |
| août | August |
| augusti | August |
| avril | April |
| brezen | March |
| Cerven | June |
| Cervenec | July |
| czerwiec | June |
| décembre | December |
| dicembre | December |
| duben | April |
| elokuu | August |
| febbraio | February |
| Feber [Februar] | February |
| februari | February |
| février | February |
| gennaio | January |
| giugno | June |
| grudzieN | December |
| heinäkuu | July |
| helmikuu | February |
| huhtikuu | April |
| Jänner [Januar] | January |
| janvier | January |
| joulukuu | December |
| juillet | July |
| juin | June |
| kesäkuu | June |
| kvÈten | May |
| kwiecieN | April |
| leden | January |
| lipiec | July |
| listopad | November |
| lokakuu | October |
| luglio | July |
| luty | February |
| maaliskuu | March |
| maart | March |
| maggio | May |
| Mai | May |
| maj | May |
| maraskuu | November |
| marzec | March |
| mars | March |
| marts | March |
| März | March |
| marzo | March |
| mei | May |
| ottobre | October |
| paZdziernik | October |
| prosinec | December |
| ríjna | October |
| settembre | September |
| sierpieN | August |
| srpen | August |
| styczeN | January |
| syyskuu | September |
| tammikuu | January |
| toukokuu | May |
| ùnora | February |
| wrzesieN | September |
| zárí | September |
II. LIST OF SELECTED FOREIGN LANGUAGE NAMES AND ABBREVIATIONS FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
- Amerikas Förenta Stater;
- [Förenta Staterna av Amerika]
- De forenete stater av Amerika
- De vorenede Stater av Amerika
- EE.UU.
- E.U.
- E.U.A.
- E.U.d Am.
- Etats-Unis d’Amérique
- Sp. St. A.
- Spoj. St. Am.
- Spojene Staty Americke
- Stany Zjednoczone Ameriki
- Stati Uniti d’America
- S.U.A.
- S.Z.A.
- V.St.A.
- V.St.v.A.
- Ver. St. v. Am(erika)
- de Vereinigde Staten van Amerika
- Vereinigde Staaten van Noord-Amerika
- Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika
- Vorenede Stater i Amerika
901.05(b) Other Significant Data [R-3]
I. NUMBERS FOR IDENTIFICATION OF BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATA ON THE FIRST PAGE OF PATENT AND LIKE DOCUMENTS INCLUDING INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS (INID NUMBERS)
The purpose of INID Codes ("INID" is an acronym for "Internationally agreed Numbers for the Identification of (bibliographic) Data") is to provide a means whereby the various data appearing on the first page of patent and like documents or in patent gazettes can be identified without knowledge of the language used and the laws applied. They are now used by most patent offices and have been applied to U.S. patents since Aug. 4, 1970. Some of the codes are not pertinent to the documents of a particular country and some which are pertinent may, in fact, not be used. INID codes for industrial designs are similar to, but not identical to, those used for patents and like documents. INID codes for industrial designs are provided separately below.
INID Codes and Minimum Required for the Identification of Bibliographic Data for Patent and Like Documents (based on WIPO Standard ST.9)
(10) Identification of the patent, SPC or patent document
°(11) Number of the patent, SPC or patent document
°(12) Plain language designation of the kind of document
°(13) Kind of document code according to WIPO Standard ST.16
°(15) Patent correction information
°°(19) WIPO Standard ST.3 code, or other identification, of the office or organization publishing the document
Notes:
(i) For an SPC, data regarding the basic patent should be coded by using code (68).
(ii) °° Minimum data element for patent documents only.
(iii) With the proviso that when data coded (11) and (13), or (19), (11) and (13), are used together and on a single line, category (10) can be used, if so desired.
(20) Data concerning the application for a patent or SPC
°(21) Number(s) assigned to the application(s), e.g., "Numéro d’enregistrement national," "Aktenzeichen"
°(22) Date(s) of filing the application(s)
°(23) Other date(s), including date of filing complete specification following provisional specification and date of exhibition
(24) Date from which industrial property rights may have effect
(25) Language in which the published application was originally filed
(26) Language in which the application is published
Notes:
(i) Attention is drawn to the Appendix 3 of WIPO Standard ST. 9 which contains information on the term of protection and on the date from which industrial property rights referred to under code (24) may have effect.
(ii) The language under code (25) and (26) should be indicated by using the two-letter language symbol according to International Standard ISO 639:1988.
(30) Data relating to priority under the Paris Convention and other agreement not specifically provided for elsewhere
°(31) Number(s) assigned to priority application(s)
°(32) Date(s) of filing of priority application(s)
°(33) WIPO Standard ST.3 code identifying the national industrial property office allotting the priority application number or the organization allotting the regional priority application number; for international applications filed under the PCT, the code "WO" is to be used
(34) For priority filings under regional or international arrangements, the WIPO Standard ST.3 code identifying at least one country party to the Paris Convention for which the regional or international application was made
Notes:
(i) With the proviso that when data coded (31), (32), and (33) are presented together, category (30) can be used, if so desired. If an ST.3 code identifying a country for which a regional or international application was made is published, it should be identified as such using INID Code (34) and should be presented separately from elements coded (31), (32) and (33) or (30).
(ii) The presentation of priority application numbers should be as recommended in WIPO Standards ST.10/C and in ST.34.
(40) Date(s) of making available to the public
°°(41) Date of making available to the public by viewing, or copying on request, an unexamined patent document, on which no grant has taken place on or before the said date
°°(42) Date of making available to the public by viewing, or copying on request, an examined patent document, on which no grant has taken place on or before the said date
°°(43) Date of making available to the public by printing or similar process of an unexamined patent document, on which no grant has taken place on or before the said date
°°(44) Date of making available to the public by printing or similar process of an examined patent document, on which no grant or only a provisional grant has taken place on or before the said date
°°(45) Date of making available to the public by printing or similar process of a patent document on which grant has taken place on or before the said date
(46) Date of making available to the public the claim(s) only of a patent document
°°(47) Date of making available to the public by viewing, or copying on request, a patent document on which grant has taken place on or before the said date
°(48) Date of issuance of a corrected patent document
Note:
°°Minimum data element for patent documents only, the minimum data requirement being met by indicating the date of making available to the public the patent document concerned.
(50) Technical information
°(51) International Patent Classification or, in the case of a design patent, as referred to in subparagraph 4(c) of WIPO Standard ST.9, International Classification for Industrial Designs
(52) Domestic or national classification
°(54) Title of the invention
(56) List of prior art documents, if separate from descriptive text
(57) Abstract or claim
(58) Field of search
Notes:
(i) The presentation of the classification symbols of the International Classification for Industrial Designs should be made in accordance with paragraph 4 of WIPO Standard ST.10/C.
(ii) With regard to code (56) attention is drawn to WIPO Standard ST.14 in connection with the citation of references on the front page of patent documents and in search reports attached to patent documents.
(60) References to other legally or procedurally related domestic or previously domestic patent documents including unpublished applications therefor
°(61) Number and, if possible, filing date of the earlier application, or number of the earlier publication, or number of earlier granted patent, inventor's certificate, utility model or the like to which the present document is an addition
°(62) Number and, if possible, filing date of the earlier application from which the present patent document has been divided up
°(63) Number and filing date of the earlier application of which the present patent document is a continuation
°(64) Number of the earlier publication which is "reissued"
(65) Number of a previously published patent document concerning the same application
(66) Number and filing date of the earlier application of which the present patent document is a substitute, i.e., a later application filed after the abandonment of an earlier application for the same invention
(67) Number and filing date of a patent application, or number of a granted patent, on which the present utility model application or registration (or a similar industrial property right, such as a utility certificate or utility innovation) is based
(68) For an SPC, number of the basic patent and/or, where appropriate, the publication number of the patent document
Notes:
(i) Priority data should be coded in category (30).
(ii) Code (65) is intended primarily for use by countries in which the national laws require that republication occur at various procedural stages under different publication numbers and these numbers differ from the basic application numbers.
(iii) Category code (60) should be used by countries which were previously part of another entity for identifying bibliographic data elements relating to applications or grants of patents which data had initially been announced by the industrial property office of that entity.
(70) Identification of parties concerned with the patent or SPC
°°(71) Name(s) of applicant(s)
(72) Name(s) of inventor(s) if known to be such
°°(73) Name(s) of grantee(s), holder(s), assignee(s) or owner(s)
(74) Name(s) of attorney(s) or agent(s)
°°(75) Name(s) of inventor(s) who is (are) also applicant(s)
°°(76) Names(s) of inventor(s) who is (are) also applicant(s) and grantee(s)
Notes:
(i) °°For patent documents for which grant has taken place on or before the date of making available to the public, and gazette entries relating thereto, the minimum data requirement is met by indicating the grantee, and for other documents by indication of the applicant.
(ii) (75) and (76) are intended primarily for use by countries in which the national laws require that the inventor and applicant be normally the same. In other cases (71) or (72) or (71), (72) and (73) should generally be used.
(80) Identification of data related to International Conventions other than the Paris Convention and to legislation
(90) with respect to SPC’s
(81) Designated State(s) according to the PCT
(83) Information concerning the deposit of microorganisms, e.g., under the Budapest Treaty
(84) Designated Contracting States under regional patent conventions
(85) Date of commencement of the national phase pursuant to PCT Article 23(l) or 40(l)
(86) Filing data of the PCT international application, i.e., international filing date, international application number, and, optionally, the language in which the published international application was originally filed
(87) Publication data of the PCT international application, i.e., international publication date, international publication number, and, optionally, the language in which the application is published
(88) Date of deferred publication of the search report
(91) Date on which an international application filed under the PCT no longer has an effect in one or several designated or elected States due to failure to enter the national or regional phase or the date on which it has been determined that it had failed to enter the national or regional phase
(92) For an SPC, number and date of the first national authorization to place the product on the market as a medicinal product
(93) For an SPC, number, date and, where applicable, country of origin, of the first authorization to place the product on the market as a medicinal product within a regional economic community
(94) Calculated date of expiry of the SPC or the duration of the SPC
(95) Name of the product protected by the basic patent and in respect of which the SPC has been applied for or granted
(96) Filing date of the regional application, i.e., application filing date, application number, and, optionally, the language in which the published application was originally filed
(97) Publication data of the regional application (or of the regional patent, if already granted), i.e., publication date, publication number, and, optionally, the language in which the application (or, where applicable, the patent) is published
Notes:
(i) The codes (86), (87), (96), and (97) are intended to be used:
• on national documents when identifying one or more of the relevant filing data or publication data of a PCT international application, or of the regional application (or of the regional patent, if already granted), or
• on regional documents when identifying one or more of the relevant filing data or publication data of the PCT international application or of another regional application (or the regional patent, if already granted).
(ii) All data in code (86), (87), (96), or (97) should be presented together and preferably on a single line. The application number or publication number should comprise the three basic elements as shown in the example in paragraph 17 of WIPO Standard ST.10/B, i.e., the two letter code identifying the republishing office, the document number, and the kind of document code.
(iii) When data to be referenced by INID Codes (86) or (87) refer to two or more regional and/or PCT applications, each set of relevant filing or publication data of each such application should be displayed so as to be clearly distinguishable from other sets of relevant data, e.g., by presenting each set on a single line or by presenting the data of each set grouped together on adjacent lines in a column with a blank line between each set. When data to be referenced by codes (86), (87), (96), or (97) refer to two or more PCT international applications and/or regional applications (or regional patents, if already granted), each set of relevant filing or publication data of each such application (or granted patent) should be displayed so as to be clearly distinguishable from other sets of relevant data, e.g., by presenting each set on a single line or by presenting the data of each set grouped together on adjacent lines in a column with a blank line between each set.
(iv) The languages under codes (86), (87), (96), and (97) should be indicated by using the two-letter language symbols according to International Standard ISO 639:1988.
(v) The country of origin in code (93), if mentioned, should be indicated by using the two letter code according to WIPO Standard ST.3.
(vi) Attention is drawn to the Appendix which contains information on the term of protection and on the date from which SPCs referred to under code (94) may have effect.
II. NUMBERS FOR IDENTIFICATION OF BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATA ON THE FIRST PAGE OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS (INID NUMBERS)
INID codes for industrial designs are similar to, but not identical to, those used for patents and like documents. INID codes for industrial designs may be of most interest to design patent examiners.
INID Codes and Minimum Required for the Identification of Bibliographic Data for Industrial Designs (based on WIPO Standard ST.80)
(10) Data concerning the registration/renewal
°(11) Serial number of the registration and/or number of the design document
°°(12) Plain language designation of the kind of published document
°(14) Serial number of the renewal where different from initial registration number
°(15) Date of the registration/Date of the renewal
(17) Expected duration of the registration/renewal
(18) Expected expiration date of the registration/renewal
°°(19) Identification, using the two-letter code according to WIPO Standard ST.3, of the authority publishing or registering the industrial design.
Note:
°°Minimum data element for design documents only
(20) Data concerning the application
°(21) Serial number of the application
°(22) Date of filing of the application
°(23) Name and place of exhibition, and date on which the industrial design was first exhibited there (exhibition priority data)
(24) Date from which the industrial design right has effect
(27) Kind of application or deposit (open/sealed)
(28) Number of industrial designs included in the application
(29) Indication of the form in which the industrial design is filed, e.g., as a reproduction of the industrial design or as a specimen thereof
(30) Data relating to priority under the Paris Convention
°(31) Serial number assigned to the priority application
°(32) Date of filing of the priority application
(33) Two-letter code, according to WIPO Standard ST.3, identifying the authority with which the priority application was made
Notes:
(i) With the proviso that when data coded (31), (32) and (33) are presented together, category code (30) can be used, if so desired.
(ii) For international deposits made under the Hague Agreement, the two-letter code "WO" is to be used.
(40) Date(s) of making information available to the public
(43) Date of publication of the industrial design before examination by printing or similar process, or making it available to the public by any other means
(44) Date of publication of the industrial design after examination, but before registration, by printing or similar process, or making it available to the public by any other means
(45) Date of publication of the registered industrial design by printing or similar process, or making it available to the public by any other means
(46) Date of expiration of deferment
(50) Miscellaneous Information
°(51) International Classification for Industrial Designs (class and subclass of the Locarno Classification)
(52) National classification
(53) Identification of the industrial design(s) comprised in a multiple application or registration which is (are) affected by a particular transaction when not all are so affected
°(54) Designation of article ( ) or product ( ) covered by the industrial design or title of the industrial design
°°(55) Reproduction of the industrial design (e.g., drawing, photograph) and explanations relating to the reproduction
(56) List of prior art document, if separate from descriptive text
(57) Description of characteristic features of the industrial design including indication of colors
(58) Date of recording of any kind of amendment in the Register (e.g., change in ownership, change in name or address, renunciation to an international deposit, termination of protection)
Notes:
(i) Code (52) should be preceded by the two-letter code, according to WIPO Standard ST.3, identifying the country whose national classification is used (the two-letter code should be indicated within parentheses).
(ii) °°Minimum data element for design documents only.
(60) References to other legally related application(s) and registration(s)
(62) Serial number(s) and, if available, filing date(s) of application(s), registration(s) or document(s) related by division
(66) Serial number(s) of the application, or the registration, of the design(s) which is (are) a variant(s) of the present one
Note:
Category code (60) should be used by countries which were previously part of another entity for identifying bibliographic data elements relating to applications or registrations of industrial designs, which data had initially been announced by the industrial property office of that entity.
(70) Identification of parties concerned with the application or registration
°°(71) Name(s) and address(es) of the applicant(s)
(72) Name(s) of the creator(s) if known to be such
°°(73) Name(s) and address(es) of the owner(s)
(74) Name(s) and address(es) of the representative(s)
(78) Name(s) and address(es) of the new owner(s) in case of change in ownership
Note:
°°If registration has taken place on or before the date of making the industrial design available to the public, the minimum data requirement is met by indicating the owner(s); in other cases, by indicating the applicant(s).
(80) Identification of certain data related to the international deposit of industrial designs under the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Deposit of Industrial Designs and data related to other international conventions.
Designated State(s)/State(s) concerned:
(81) Designated State(s) according to the 1960 Act
(82) State(s) concerned according to the 1934 Act
(84) Designated Contracting State(s) under regional convention.
Information regarding the owner(s):
(86) Nationality of the owner(s)
(87) Residence or headquarters of the owner(s)
(88) State in which the owner(s) has (have) a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment
Note:
The data to be referenced by INID codes (81) to (88) should be indicated by using the two-letter code according to WIPO Standard ST.3.
901.05(c) Obtaining Copies [R-3]
Until October 1, 1995, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (Office) received copies of the published specifications of patents and patent applications from nearly all the countries which issue them in printed form. The Office now receives most foreign patents in the form of CD-ROM disks and other electronic media. The foreign patents so obtained are available to examiners from the USPTO’s automated search tools such as the Examiner’s Automated Search Tool (EAST), the Web-based Examiner Search Tool (WEST) and the Foreign Patent Access System (FPAS), and from the Foreign Patent and Scientific Literature Branch of the Scientific and Technical Information Center (STIC). The U.S. has agreements with these countries to exchange patent documentation.
Until October 1995, it was the practice in the Office to classify and place only a single patent family member for each invention in the examiner search files. In addition, all non-English language patent documents placed in the examiner files were accompanied, to the extent possible, by an English language abstract. For countries where the specification is printed twice, once during the application stage and again after the patent has been granted, only the first printing was, in general, placed in the search files, since the second printing ordinarily does not vary from the first as to disclosure.
Copies of various specifications not included in the search files, whether non-English-language patent documents or documents not printed or available for exchange, may come to the examiner’s attention. For example, they may be cited in a motion to dissolve an interference, be cited by applicants, or turn up in an online search. Upon request, STIC will obtain a copy from its extensive collection, or if necessary, from the patent office of the particular country. In the case of unprinted patent documents, STIC will request that the date of granting and the date the specification was made available to the public be indicated on the copies provided by the country of origin.
Examiners can order copies of any foreign patent documents from the STIC facility in their Technology Center or from the Foreign Patent and Scientific Literature Branch of STIC. If examiners so choose, they can make copies themselves. The most current patent documents are accessible through the USPTO’s automated search systems, which allow public and USPTO users to look up, view, and print foreign documents. Older documents can be found on microfilm or print copies in the Main Branch of the STIC. Examiners may place a photocopy or translation in the shoes of the class which he or she examines if the patents are particularly relevant. See MPEP § 903.03.
901.05(d) Translation [R-5]
Examiners may consult the translators in the Translations Branch of the Scientific and Technical Information Center (STIC) for oral assistance in translating foreign patents or literature that are possible references for an application being examined. Examiners may also request written translations of pertinent portions of references being considered for citation or already cited in applications. See MPEP § 901.06(a), STIC Services - Translations, and MPEP § 903.03, Availability of Foreign Patents.
Examiners may request written translations at any point in the examination process, at the discretion of the individual examiner, but are encouraged to use oral assistance and/or language reference resources as much as possible in the early phases of examination. Effective January 1, 2004, the Translations Branch will use e-mail as the sole delivery method for written translations. Paper copies of the translation request form, the foreign document and the translation will no longer be returned to the examiner. Therefore, it is important that examiners submit to STIC only copies of the foreign documents to be translated, and retain the original documents.
Translation service requests can be submitted electronically, via phone, or by fax to STIC. More information is available at: http://ptoweb/patents/stic.
Equivalent versions of foreign specifications, that is, members of the same patent family, are often available in English or other languages known to the examiner. In addition, copies of previously translated documents are stored in the Translations Branch. Before any translation request is processed, the staff of the Translations Branch checks for equivalents or previous translations. The staff of STIC’s Foreign Patent and Scientific Literature Branch or the Translations Branch can assist examiners in locating equivalents or abstracts. See MPEP § 901.06(a), STIC Services - Foreign Patent Services.