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Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP)

Ninth Edition, Revision 10.2019, Last Revised June 2020

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Consolidated Laws - The patent laws in effect as of October 31, 2019.

Consolidated Rules - The patent rules in effect as of January 20, 2021.

MPEP Archives (1948 - 2018)

Current MPEP:

The documents updated in the Ninth Edition, Revision 10.2019 of the MPEP dated June 2020 include changes that became effective in October 2019 or earlier.

Searchable MPEP

June 2020 Publication of Revision 10.2019
The June 2020 publication of Revision 10.2019 updates sections of MPEP Chapters 100-1000, 1200-1500, and 1700-2800. The updated sections have a revision indicator of [R-10.2019], meaning these sections have been updated to reflect USPTO patent practice and relevant case law as of October 31, 2019. In addition, the June 2020 publication of Revision 10.2019 updates Chapter FPC - Form Paragraphs Consolidated, the Foreword, the Introduction, the Subject Matter Index, and all appendices except Appendix I and Appendix P.

More detailed information about the changes is available from the “Change Summary” of the Searchable MPEP or from the “Change Summary” link to the HTML and PDF versions provided below.

Title Page      PDF
Foreword      PDF
Introduction      PDF
Table of Contents       PDF
Chapter 300 -     PDF   Ownership and Assignment
Chapter 400 -    PDF    Representative of Applicant or Owner
Chapter 500 -     PDF    Receipt and Handling of Mail and Papers
Chapter 700 -     PDF    Examination of Applications
Chapter 900 -     PDF   Prior Art, Classification, and Search
Chapter 1200 -     PDF    Appeal
Chapter 1300 -     PDF   Allowance and Issue
Chapter 1400 -     PDF   Correction of Patents
Chapter 1500 -     PDF   Design Patents
Chapter 1600 -     PDF   Plant Patents
Chapter 1700 -     PDF   Miscellaneous
Chapter 1800 -     PDF    Patent Cooperation Treaty
Chapter 1900 -     PDF   Protest
Chapter 2000 -     PDF   Duty of Disclosure
Chapter 2100 -     PDF   Patentability
Chapter 2400 -     PDF   Biotechnology
Chapter 2500 -     PDF   Maintenance Fees
Chapter 2600 -     PDF   Optional Inter Partes Reexamination
Chapter 2800 -     PDF   Supplemental Examination
Chapter 2900 -     PDF   International Design Applications
Appendix I -     PDF   Reserved
Appendix II -     PDF   List of Decisions Cited
Appendix L -    PDF   Patent Laws
Appendix R -     PDF   Patent Rules
Appendix T -     PDF   Patent Cooperation Treaty
Appendix P -    PDF   Paris Convention

Previous Editions and Revisions

All previous editions and revisions of the Manual are available from the MPEP Archives


First Edition, November 1949 
Second Edition, November 1953 
Third Edition, November 1961 
Fourth Edition, June 1979 
Fifth Edition, August 1983 
Sixth Edition, January 1995 
Seventh Edition, July 1998 
Eighth Edition, August 2001
Ninth Edition, March 2014

 


 

Web Page Revision History:
June 2020 – Published MPEP E9R-10.2019 Searchable MPEP, PDF Files and HTML Files to include updated sections of MPEP Chapters 100-1000, 1200-1500, and 1700-2800, and Chapter FPC, the Foreword, Introduction, Subject Matter Index, and all appendices except Appendix I and Appendix P.

January 2018 – Published MPEP E9R-08.2017 Searchable MPEP, PDF Files and HTML Files to include substantive changes to chapters 200 , 700 , 800 , 900 , 1000 , 1200 , 1400 , 1500 , 1800 , 2000 , 2100 , 2200 , 2300 , 2500 , 2700 , and Chapter FPC, the Table of Contents, Foreword, Introduction, Subject Matter Index, and all appendices except Appendix I and Appendix P.
November 2015 – Re-published MPEP E9R-07.2015 Searchable MPEP, PDF Files and HTML Files to include substantive updates to sections 2131.03, 2144.05, 2161, 2161.01, 2163, and 2181
October 2015 – Added MPEP E9R-07.2015 Searchable MPEP, PDF Files and HTML Files
March 2014 — Added MPEP E9R-11.2013 Searchable MPEP, PDF Files, and HTML Files
September 2012 — Added MPEP E8 Rev. 9 Searchable MPEP, PDF Files, and HTML Files
July 2010 — Added MPEP E8 Rev. 8 HTML Files
July 2010 — Added MPEP E8 Rev. 8 PDF Files
December 2008 — Added MPEP E8 Rev. 7 HTML Files
August 2008 — Added MPEP E8 Rev. 7 PDF Files
January 2008 — Added MPEP E8 Rev. 6 HTML Files
October 2007 — Added MPEP E8 Rev. 6 PDF Files
December 2006 — Added MPEP E8 Rev. 5 HTML Files
September 2006 — Added MPEP E8 Rev. 5 PDF Files
December 2005 — Added MPEP E8 Rev. 4 PDF and HTML Files
October 2005 — Added MPEP E8 Rev. 3 PDF and HTML Files
June 2004 — Added MPEP E8R2 PDF Files
March 2003 — Added MPEP E8R1 PDF Files
September 2001 — Added MPEP E8 PDF Files
May 2000 — Added MPEP E7R1 PDF and ASCII Files

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Last Modified: 11/05/2015 11:53:50