2232 Public Access to Reexaminations Filed under 35 U.S.C. 302 [R-07.2022]
Reexamination files are open to inspection by the general public by way of Patent Center via the USPTO Internet site. In viewing the images of the reexamination proceedings, members of the public will be able to view the entire content of the reexamination file with the exception of non-patent literature. To access Patent Center, a member of the public would go to the USPTO website at www.uspto.gov.
Also, a certified copy of the reexamination file, including any non-patent literature, may be ordered from the Patent and Trademark Copy Fulfillment Branch (PTCFB) of the Public Records Division (PRD). Orders for such copies must indicate the control number of the reexamination proceeding. It is preferred that orders be made through the PTCFB’s Certified Copy Center storefront at https://certifiedcopycenter.uspto.gov. Alternatively, orders may be addressed to:
Mail Stop Post Issue
Director of the U.S. Patent & Trademark
Office
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, VA 22313-1450
or sent via email to: dsd@uspto.gov, and the cost of the copy may be charged to a credit card or deposit account.
2232.01 Determining if a Reexamination Request Was Filed under 35 U.S.C. 302 for a Patent [R-07.2022]
TO DETERMINE FROM PATENT CENTER OR PATENT DATA PORTAL IF A REEXAMINATION REQUEST HAS BEEN FILED FOR A GIVEN PATENT NUMBERBoth the Internet (using Patent Center) and the USPTO intranet (using Patent Data Portal (PDP)) can be accessed to determine if a reexamination request has been filed for a particular patent.
Using the USPTO Intranet- From the USPTO intranet site https://ptoweb.uspto.gov, Office personnel can click on "Business Units" and then “Patent Data Portal”.
- From here, select “patent number” in the drop down menu next to “Search by” and enter the patent number.
- Click the search icon and when the application information appears, click on “Continuity & foreign data” to obtain the reexamination number.
Any reexamination for the patent number will be listed.
There will be about a ten (10) day lag between filing and data entry into the database.
