Top of Notices Top of Notices   (105)  December 30, 2008 US PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE Print This Notice 1337 CNOG  460 

General Information Referenced Items (94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115)
(105)		"Kind Codes" Included on USPTO Patent Documents

   On January 2, 2001, the United States Patent and Trademark Office
(USPTO) began printing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
Standard ST.16 code on each of its published patent documents. WIPO
Standard ST.16 codes (kind codes) include a letter, and in many cases a
number, used to distinguish the kind of patent document (e.g., publication
of an application for a utility patent (patent application publication),
patent, plant patent application publication, plant patent, or design
patent) and the level of publication (e.g., first publication, second
publication, or corrected publication). Detailed information on Standard
ST.16 and the use of kind codes by patent offices throughout the world is
available on the WIPO web site at http://www.wipo.int/scit/en, under the
links for WIPO standards and other documentation.

   In addition, some kind codes assigned to existing USPTO patent documents
were changed due to the upcoming introduction of USPTO patent application
publications resulting from the American Inventors Protection Act of 1999
(AIPA).  The first patent application publications are expected to be
published in Mid-March 2001. Thereafter, patent application publications
will be published weekly on Thursday.  An example of the front page of a
utility patent application publication follows this notice.  Additional
information on the AIPA, including the rules pertaining to publication of
patent applications, is posted on the USPTO web site at:
http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/dcom/olia/aipa/index.htm.

   The tables below give a summary of the kind codes which are no longer
being used on certain published patent documents as well as a summary of
the kind codes which will be used on published patent documents after
January 2, 2001. It is recommended that USPTO documents be identified by
the following three elements: 1) the two-character country code (US for
United States of America); 2) the patent or publication number; and 3) the
WIPO ST.16 kind code.  For example, "US 7,654,321 B1" for U.S. Patent No.
7,654,321 where there was no previously-published patent application
publication, and "US 2003/1234567 A1" for U.S. Patent Application
Publication No. 2003/1234567, published in 2003.  Each year the numbering
of published patent applications will begin again with the new four digit
year and the number 0000001, so the number of a patent application
publication must include an associated year.

	       Summary of USPTO Kind Codes No Longer Used As of
			       January 2, 2001*

WIPO ST.16 	        Kind of document	      Comments
Kind Codes

A			Patent		              Kind code replaced by
					              B1 or B2

P 			Plant Patent    	      Kind code replaced by
						      P2 or P3
B1, B2, B3 . . .	Reexamination		      Kind code replaced by
 			Certificate		      C1, C2, C3 . . .

*See the table below for the new uses for codes B1 and B2 beginning
January 2, 2001.

		Summary of USPTO Kind Codes Used on Documents
		      Published Beginning January 2, 2001

WIPO ST.16 		Kind of document	      Comments
Kind Codes

A1			Patent Application	      Pre-grant publication
                        Publication		      available March 2001
Top of Notices Top of Notices   (105)  December 30, 2008 US PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE 1337 CNOG  461 


A2			Patent Application	      Pre-grant publication
                        Publication 		      available March 2001
                        (Republication)

A9			Patent Application	      Pre-grant publication
  			Publication		      available March 2001
                        (Corrected Publication)

B1			Patent			      No previously
						      published pre-grant
  						      publication

B2			Patent			      Having a previously
						      published pre-grant
  						      publication and
 						      available March 2001

C1, C2, C3 . . .	Reexamination 		      Previously used
                        Certificate		      codes B1 and B2
  						      are now used
						      for granted Patents

E			Reissue Patent		      No change

H			Statutory Invention	      No change
 			Registration (SIR)

P1			Plant Patent		      Pre-grant publication
                        Application 		      available March 2001
                        Publication

P2			Plant Patent		      No previously
						      published pre-grant
 						      publication

P3			Plant Patent		      Having a previously
						      published pre-grant
  						      publication and
 						      available March 2001

P4			Plant Patent		      Pre-grant publication
  			Application		      available after
			Publication		      March 2001
                        (Republication)

P9			Plant Patent		      Pre-grant publication
                        Application 		      available March 2001
			Publication
                        (Corrected
                        Publication)

S			Design Patent		      No change

Questions concerning this notice should be directed to Robert Saifer, by
telephone at (703) 308-6853, by facsimile to (703) 308-6879, marked to the
attention of Robert Saifer, or via e-mail to robert.saifer@uspto.gov.

Jan. 22, 2001					           STEPHEN G. KUNIN
					     Deputy Commissioner for Patent
                                                         Examination Policy

To see mockup of the front page of a Patent Application Publication
refer to the Official Gazette.

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