Revised USPTO Manual of Patent Examining Procedure Now Available
The United States Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP) provides patent examiners and the public with a reference work on the practices and procedures relative to the prosecution of patent applications and other proceedings before the USPTO. The MPEP contains instructions to examiners, as well as other material in the nature of information and interpretation, and outlines the current procedures that examiners are required or authorized to follow in appropriate cases in the normal examination of patent applications and during other Office proceedings.
A revision to the Ninth Edition of the MPEP is now available and includes updates to sections of chapters 200-700, 900-1600, 1800, and 2100-2900. The updated sections have a revision indicator of [R-01.2024], meaning these sections have been updated to include changes based on published guidance documents (e.g., rulemaking, notices, guidelines, and memorandums) that were in effect on or before January 31, 2024. In addition, Chapter FPC (Form Paragraph Book), the Title Page, Foreword, Introduction, Subject Matter Index, Appendix II, Appendix L, and Appendix R have been updated. The changes in the November 2024 publication are discussed in the Change Summary for the Ninth Edition, Revision 01.2024.
The updated MPEP (Ninth Edition, Rev. 01.2024) may be viewed or download free of charge from the USPTO website. It's also available to search online. Archived copies of each of the prior revisions and editions of the MPEP continue to be available for reference on the USPTO website.
For more information, please view the Federal Register Notice on the Patent Related Notices webpage of USPTO. Please contact your Butzel attorney or the author of this Client Alert if you have any questions.
Pabitra Kumar Chakrabarti
202.454.2864
chakrabarti@butzel.com
