35 U.S.C. 111 (pre-AIA) — Application
Ninth Edition, Revision 01.2024
[Editor Note: Not applicable to any patent application filed on or after September 16, 2012. See 35 U.S.C. 111 or 35 U.S.C. 111 (pre-PLT (AIA)) for the law otherwise applicable.]
- (a) IN GENERAL.—
- (1) WRITTEN APPLICATION.—An application for patent shall be made, or authorized to be made, by the inventor, except as otherwise provided in this title, in writing to the Director.
- (2) CONTENTS.—Such application shall include—
- (A) a specification as prescribed by section 112 of this title;
- (B) a drawing as prescribed by section 113 of this title; and
- (C) an oath by the applicant as prescribed by section 115 of this title.
- (3) FEE AND OATH.—The application must be accompanied by the fee required by law. The fee and oath may be submitted after the specification and any required drawing are submitted, within such period and under such conditions, including the payment of a surcharge, as may be prescribed by the Director.
- (4) FAILURE TO SUBMIT.—Upon failure to submit the fee and oath within such prescribed period, the application shall be regarded as abandoned, unless it is shown to the satisfaction of the Director that the delay in submitting the fee and oath was unavoidable or unintentional. The filing date of an application shall be the date on which the specification and any required drawing are received in the Patent and Trademark Office.
- (b) PROVISIONAL APPLICATION.—
- (1) AUTHORIZATION.—A provisional application for patent
shall be made or authorized to be made by the inventor, except as
otherwise provided in this title, in writing to the Director. Such
application shall include—
- (A) a specification as prescribed by the first paragraph of section 112 of this title; and
- (B) a drawing as prescribed by section 113 of this title.
- (2) CLAIM.—A claim, as required by the second through fifth paragraphs of section 112 , shall not be required in a provisional application.
- (3) FEE.—
- (A) The application must be accompanied by the fee required by law.
- (B) The fee may be submitted after the specification and any required drawing are submitted, within such period and under such conditions, including the payment of a surcharge, as may be prescribed by the Director.
- (C) Upon failure to submit the fee within such prescribed period, the application shall be regarded as abandoned, unless it is shown to the satisfaction of the Director that the delay in submitting the fee was unavoidable or unintentional.
- (4) FILING DATE.—The filing date of a provisional application shall be the date on which the specification and any required drawing are received in the Patent and Trademark Office.
- (5) ABANDONMENT.—Notwithstanding the absence of a claim, upon timely request and as prescribed by the Director, a provisional application may be treated as an application filed under subsection (a). Subject to section 119(e)(3) of this title, if no such request is made, the provisional application shall be regarded as abandoned 12 months after the filing date of such application and shall not be subject to revival after such 12-month period.
- (6) OTHER BASIS FOR PROVISIONAL APPLICATION.—Subject to all the conditions in this subsection and section 119(e) of this title, and as prescribed by the Director, an application for patent filed under subsection (a) may be treated as a provisional application for patent.
- (7) NO RIGHT OF PRIORITY OR BENEFIT OF EARLIEST FILING DATE.—A provisional application shall not be entitled to the right of priority of any other application under section 119 or 365(a) of this title or to the benefit of an earlier filing date in the United States under section 120 , 121 , or 365(c) of this title.
- (8) APPLICABLE PROVISIONS.—The provisions of this title relating to applications for patent shall apply to provisional applications for patent, except as otherwise provided, and except that provisional applications for patent shall not be subject to sections 115 , 131 , 135 , and 157 of this title.
- (1) AUTHORIZATION.—A provisional application for patent
shall be made or authorized to be made by the inventor, except as
otherwise provided in this title, in writing to the Director. Such
application shall include—
(Amended Aug. 27, 1982, Public Law 97-247, sec. 5, 96 Stat. 319; Dec. 8, 1994, Public Law 103-465, sec. 532(b)(3), 108 Stat. 4986; Nov. 29, 1999, Public Law 106-113, sec. 1000(a)(9), 113 Stat. 1501A-582, 588 (S. 1948 secs. 4732(a)(10)(A), 4801(a)).)
Cited authority
- 35 U.S.C. 111 Application
- 35 U.S.C. 111 (pre-PLT (AIA)) Application
- 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA) Specification
- 35 U.S.C. 113 Drawings
- 35 U.S.C. 115 (pre-AIA) Oath of applicant
- 35 U.S.C. 119 (pre-AIA) Benefit of earlier filing date; right of priority
- 35 U.S.C. 365 Right of priority; benefit of the filing date of a prior application
- 35 U.S.C. 120 (pre-AIA) Benefit of earlier filing date in the United States
- 35 U.S.C. 121 (pre-AIA) Divisional applications
- 35 U.S.C. 131 Examination of application
- 35 U.S.C. 135 (pre-AIA) Interferences
- 35 U.S.C. 157 (pre-AIA) Statutory invention registration
Cited by
- 1002.02(p) Petitions and Matters Decided by the Director of International Patent Legal Administration
- 101 General
- 1120 Eighteen-Month Publication of Patent Applications
- 115 Review of Applications for National Security and Property Rights Issues
- 1451 Divisional Reissue Applications; Continuation Reissue Applications Where the Parent is Pending
- 1481.03 Correction of 35 U.S.C. 119 and 35 U.S.C. 120 Benefits
- 1502.01 Distinction Between Design and Utility Patents
- 1850 Unity of Invention Before the International Searching Authority
- 1893 National Stage (U.S. National Application Filed Under 35 U.S.C. 371)
- 1893.01(a)(3) Article 34 Amendments (Filed with the International Preliminary Examining Authority)
- 1893.01(c) Fees
- 1893.03(c) The Priority Date, Priority Claim, and Priority Papers for a U.S. National Stage Application
- 1893.03(d) Unity of Invention
- 1893.03(g) Information Disclosure Statement in a National Stage Application
- 1895 A Continuation, Divisional, or Continuation- in- Part Application of a PCT Application Designating the United States
- 1895.01 Handling of and Considerations in the Handling of Continuations, Divisions, and Continuations-In-Part of PCT Applications
- 1896 The Differences Between a National Application Filed Under 35 U.S.C. 111(a) and a National Stage Application Submitted Under 35 U.S.C. 371
- 201.01 National Applications
- 201.04 Provisional Application
- 211.02 Reference to Prior Application(s)
- 211.05 Sufficiency of Disclosure in Prior-Filed Application
- 2136 Pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(e)
- 2139.01 Effective Filing Date of a Claimed Invention Under Pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102
- 2139.03 Form Paragraphs for Use in Rejections Under Pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102
- 215 Certified Copy of Foreign Application
- 2152.01 Effective Filing Date of the Claimed Invention
- 217 Incorporation by Reference Under 37 CFR 1.57(b)
- 2422.07 Requirements for Compliance and Consequences of Non-Compliance
- 2730 Applications Filed on or After May 29, 2000; Grounds for Adjustment
- 2731 Period of Adjustment
- 2732 Reduction of Period of Adjustment of Patent Term
- 324 Establishing Right of Assignee To Take Action in Application Filed Before September 16, 2012
- 409.03(a) At Least One Joint Inventor Available
- 409.03(b) No Inventor Available
- 502.05 Correspondence Transmitted by EFS-Web
- 506 Completeness of Original Application
- 509 Payment of Fees
- 601 Content of Provisional and Nonprovisional Applications
- 601.01 Complete Application
- 601.01(a) Nonprovisional Applications Filed Under 35 U.S.C. 111(a)
- 601.01(e) Nonprovisional Application Filed Without at Least One Claim
- 601.01(f) Applications Filed Without Drawings
- 607 Filing Fee
- 607.02 Returnability of Fees
- 608.01 Specification
- 608.01(b) Abstract of the Disclosure
- 608.01(p) Completeness of Specification
- 608.02(d) Complete Illustration in Drawings
- 609 Information Disclosure Statement
- 609.04(b) Timing Requirements for an Information Disclosure Statement
- 704.10 Requirements for Information
- 704.11 What Information May Be Required
- 706.07(g) Transitional After-Final Practice
- 706.07(h) Request for Continued Examination (RCE) Practice
- 708.02(a) Accelerated Examination
- 710.05 Period Ending on Saturday, Sunday, or a Federal Holiday
- 711.01 Express or Formal Abandonment
- 711.03(c) Petitions Relating to Abandonment
- 801 Introduction
- 804 Definition of Double Patenting
- 804.03 Commonly Owned Inventions of Different Inventive Entities; Non-Commonly Owned Inventions Subject to a Joint Research Agreement
- 901.03 Pending Applications
- 35 U.S.C. 111 Application
- 35 U.S.C. 111 (pre-PLT (AIA)) Application
- 35 U.S.C. 154 (pre-AIA) Contents and term of patent; provisional rights
- 35 U.S.C. 375 (pre-AIA) Patent issued on international application: Effect
- 37 CFR 1.9 Definitions
- 37 CFR 1.16 National application filing, search, and examination fees
- 37 CFR 1.33 (pre-AIA) Correspondence respecting patent applications, reexamination proceedings, and other proceedings
- 37 CFR 1.53 Application number, filing date, and completion of application
- 37 CFR 1.55 Claim for foreign priority
- 37 CFR 1.57 Incorporation by reference
- 37 CFR 1.57 (pre-PLT) Incorporation by reference
- 37 CFR 1.76 (2012-09-16 thru 2013-12-17) Application data sheet
- 37 CFR 1.76 (pre-AIA) Application data sheet
- 37 CFR 1.78 Claiming benefit of earlier filing date and cross-references to other applications
- 37 CFR 1.105 (pre-AIA) Requirements for information
- 37 CFR 1.138 Express abandonment
- 37 CFR 1.211 Publication of applications
- 37 CFR 1.417 Submission of translation of international publication
- 37 CFR 1.702 Grounds for adjustment of patent term due to examination delay under the Patent Term Guarantee Act of 1999 (original applications, other than designs, filed on or after May 29, 2000)
- 37 CFR 1.702 (pre-2013-04-01) Grounds for adjustment of patent term due to examination delay under the Patent Term Guarantee Act of 1999 (original applications, other than designs, filed on or after May 29, 2000)
- 37 CFR 1.703 Period of adjustment of patent term due to examination delay
- 37 CFR 1.703 (2012-09-17 thru 2013-03-31) Period of adjustment of patent term due to examination delay
- 37 CFR 1.703 (pre-2012-09-17) Period of adjustment of patent term due to examination delay
- 37 CFR 1.704 Reduction of period of adjustment of patent term