- Notice of allowance (NOA): A written notification from the USPTO that a specific mark has survived the opposition period following publication in the Official Gazette, and has consequently been allowed for registration. It does not mean that the mark has registered yet. Receiving a notice of allowance is another step on the way to registration. Notices of allowance are only issued for applications that have been filed based on "intent to use". The notice of allowance is important because the issue date of the Notice of Allowance establishes the due date for filing a statement of use. After receiving the Notice of Allowance, the applicant must file a statement of use or a request for an extension of time to file a statement of use within 6 months from the issue date of the notice. If thea applicant fails to timely file a statement of use or a request for an extension of time to file a statement of use, the application will be abandoned.
- Office action: A letter from a trademark examining attorney setting forth the legal status of a trademark application. There are several types of Office actions: examiner's amendments, priority actions, non-final Office actions, final Office actions, and suspension inquiry letters.
- Parent application: The term "parent" is applied to an earlier application of the inventor disclosing a given invention.
- Patent: A property right granted by the Government of the United States of America to an inventor "to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling the invention throughout the United States or importing the invention into the United States" for a limited time in exchange for public disclosure of the invention when the patent is granted.
- Patent family: A patent family is the same invention disclosed by a common inventor(s) and patented in more than one country.
- Patent number: A unique number assigned to a patent application when it issues as a patent.
- PG Pub: Pre-Grant Publication of patent application at 18 months from priority date:
- Plant application (patent): Applications to protect invented or discovered, asexually reproduced plant varieties.
- Provisional patent application: A provisional application for patent is a U. S. national application for patent filed in the USPTO under 35 U.S.C. § 111(b). It allows filing without a formal patent claim, oath or declaration, or any information disclosure (prior art) statement. It provides the means to establish an early effective filing date in a nonprovisional patent application filed under 35 U.S.C § 111(a) and automatically becomes abandoned after one year. It also allows the term "Patent Pending" to be applied.
- PTO: Patent and Trademark Office, former designation for USPTO.
- Publication number: A number assigned to the publication of patent applications filed on or after November 29, 2000. It includes the year, followed by a seven digit number, followed by a kind code. Example 200011234567A1.
USPTO: United States Patent and Trademark Office.
USPC: United States Patent Classification.*
- Utility patent: May be granted to anyone who invents or discovers any new, useful, and nonobvious process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof.
- Utility patent application: Protect useful processes, machines, articles of manufacture, and compositions of matter.
- WIPO: World Intellectual Property Organization.
- Withdrawn patent: An allowed application for patent in which the applicant files correspondence to withdraw the patent from issue; thus preventing it from issuing on the patent issue date. The printed document is sometimes available on the day of publication, but is later retracted and will not be available in the patent database. No copy of the patent document will appear on the official USPTO web site.