by  Mel R. Quintos

This Newsletter will summarize three subject areas in which rules have been proposed in compliance with the new America Invents Act signed into law on September 16, 2011. The three subject areas discussed here are as follows: (i) third party submission of prior art in a patent application (Federal Register 448, Vol. 77, No. 3, January 5, 2012); (ii) citation of prior art in a patent file (Federal Register 442, Vol. 77, No. 3, January 5, 2012); and (iii) supplemental examination (Federal Register 3666, Vol. 77, No 16, January 25, 2012).

Third Party Submission of Prior Art in a Patent Application:

A third party may submit prior art in a patent application for consideration and entry in the record of the patent application. The prior art may be Aany patents, published patent applications, or other printed publications of potential relevance to the examination of the application. @ The filing of the submission must be made before the earlier of: (1) the date of a notice of allowance, or (2) the later of: (i) six months after the date on which the application is first published by the U.S. PTO or (ii) the date of the first rejection of any claim.—click here to read more—