Submit a protest to the USPTO to challenge a patent application.
The Constitution of the United States gives Congress the right to "promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries." The Congress does this by allowing the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the USPTO, to administer and grant patents to corporate or individual inventors. Under Section 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) No. 1.291, the public has the option of challenging patent applications submitted to the USPTO if they believe the invention infringes on another person's already established intellectual property rights.
Instructions
1. Identify to which patent application the protest is directed. A patent protest must identify the patent application of concern by application number or serial number and filing date. If the USPTO cannot determine which patent application the protest refers to, the office discards the protest.
2. Compile a list of all published material forming the basis of the protest. Also called "information which can be relied upon in protest" by the USPTO, this list serves as a comprehensive list of all materials relied upon in the protest. Examples of materials to include on the list include prior art documents, previous patents, affidavits, court litigation materials and declarations.
3. Assemble all documents on the list into one package. Make a copy of each document listed on the information which can be relied upon in protest inventory. Be sure to make a complete copy of each document.
4. Complete forms PTO/SB/08a and PTO/SB/08b. These forms become part of the patent protest and serve as identifiers of the patent application in question and the material basis of the patent protest.
5. Mail the patent application protest to the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Compile forms PTO/SB/08A and PTO/SB/08B, the list of information which can be relied upon in protest and a copy of all that material into one package, the complete patent protest. Address the patent protest package to the Director of the technology center processing the application and mail to:
Commissioner for Patents
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, VA 22313-1450
6. Serve the original applicant or attorney of record a copy of the patent application protest. If you choose not to serve the original applicant or attorney of record, include a duplicate patent protest package in your submission to the USPTO.
