Patent Law University

Patent prosecution

Prosecution is the exchange between an applicant and a USPTO examiner that ends in a patent or a final refusal. It turns on the patentability requirements: eligible subject matter, novelty, non-obviousness, and a specification that describes and enables the claims and claims that are definite.

The latest decisions on each requirement are below.

Tools and data

Latest decisions

Patent eligibility (§ 101) →
Written description, enablement and indefiniteness (§ 112) →
Anticipation and prior art (§ 102) →
Obviousness (§ 103) →

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General information, not legal advice. How we write and check these guides: our editorial policy.