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General Information Referenced Items (160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176)
(169)           "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
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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
                                                      pulication
                                                      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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