- Abandonment: 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 provided under 37 CFR § 1.134 and § 1.136 unless an Office action indicates otherwise. 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.
- Applicant: Inventor or joint inventors who are applying for a patent on their own invention, or the person mentioned in 37 CFR 1.42, 1.43 or 1.47 who is applying for a patent in place of the inventor.
- Application filing date: The date the USPTO receives an application in English that includes all the following: (1) The applicant's name, (2) A name and address for correspondence (3) A clear drawing of the mark to be registered, (4) A list of the goods or services, and (5) An application filing fee for at least one class of goods or services.
- CIP (Continuation-in-Part): An application filed during the lifetime of an earlier nonprovisional application, repeating some substantial portion or all of the earlier nonprovisional application and adding matter not disclosed in the earlier nonprovisional application.
- Claims: define the invention and are what aspects are legally enforceable. The specification must conclude with a claim particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention or discovery. The claim or claims must conform to the invention as set forth in the remainder of the specification and the terms and phrases used in the claims must find clear support or antecedent basis in the description so that the meaning of the terms in the claims may be ascertainable (clearly understood) by reference to the description. (See 37 CFR § 1.58(a)).
- Classification: Patents are classified (organized) in the U.S. by a system using a 3 digit class and a 3 digit subclass to describe every similar grouping of patent art. A single invention may be described by multiple classification codes.
- Continuation: A second application for the same invention claimed in a prior nonprovisional application and filed before the first application becomes abandoned or patented.
- Continuing application: A continuation, divisional, or continuation-in-part patent application.
CPC: Cooperative Patent Classification.*
- Design patent: May be granted to anyone who invents a new, original, and ornamental design for an article of manufacture.
- Design patent application: An application for a patent to protect against the unauthorized use of new, original, and ornamental designs for articles of manufacture.
- Divisional application: A later application for an independent or distinct invention disclosing and claiming (only a portion of and) only subject matter disclosed in the earlier or parent application.
- Drawing (patent): Patent drawings must show every feature of the invention as specified in the claims. Omission of drawings may cause an application to be considered incomplete but are only required if drawings are necessary for the understanding of the subject matter sought to be patented.
- Express abandonment: A patent application may be expressly abandoned by filing a written declaration of abandonment identifying the application in the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Express abandonment becomes effective when an appropriate official