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Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP)

Ninth Edition, Revision 07.2022

MPEP Archives – PDF archive of previous publications of the manual from 1948 – 2020.

The USPTO continues to offer an online discussion tool for commenting on selected chapters of the Manual. To participate in the discussion and to contribute your ideas go to: https://uspto-mpep.ideascalegov.com.


Updates Since Current MPEP

The current MPEP (9th Edition, Rev. 07.2022), published February 2023, is up-to-date as of July 31, 2022. Any changes to USPTO patent examining policies and procedures that occurred after July 31, 2022, have not been incorporated into the current MPEP.


The following are links to updated information:

Current fees – Refer to the Current USPTO Fee Schedule.

Consolidated Laws – The patent laws in effect as of December 29, 2022.

Consolidated Rules – The patent rules in effect as of January 17, 2024.

Subsequent Publications (After July 31, 2022) – A listing of documents that made changes to USPTO patent examining policies and procedures after July 31, 2022, and are under consideration for inclusion in a future publication of the MPEP. This listing is current as of January 31, 2024.


The following supersede one or more portions of the current MPEP:

Revised form paragraphs to eliminate references to EFS-Web and Private PAIR (January 3, 2024)
Advance Notice of Change to MPEP § 706.07 and Form Paragraph 7.39.01 (October 25, 2023)
Advance Notice of Change to MPEP § 2205 (October 4, 2023)


Current MPEP

MPEP sections that were revised in the current MPEP have a revision indicator of [R-07.2022] adjacent to the section title. Throughout the MPEP, these revision indicators identify the date of the last revision to that section.

See the “Change Summary” for an explanation of the changes made in the current MPEP.

The current MPEP (9th Edition, Rev. 07.2022) is available in three formats: Searchable MPEP (eMPEP), HTML, and PDF.

Searchable MPEP (eMPEP)


HTML and PDF

Links below including a downloadable zip file:

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 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

 


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