Examination of the Patent Application
Patent applications can be filed in person or mailed to the PTO. All applications received in the PTO are assigned a serial number, and the applicant is given a filing receipt several weeks after filing to verify the serial number and filing date.
Patent applicants owe a duty of candor to the PTO and are required to disclose to the PTO any information that pertains to the patentability of an invention. Thus, known prior art and other patents must be disclosed. Applicants use an Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) identifying material that bears on patentability. The IDS is filed with the application or within three months thereafter.
The application is assigned to an examining attorney skilled in the area ...
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