724.01 Completeness of the Patent File Wrapper [R-08.2012]

It is the intent of the Office that the patent file wrapper be as complete as possible insofar as “material” information is concerned. The Office attempts to minimize the potential conflict between full disclosure of “material” information as required by 37 CFR 1.56 and protection of trade secret, proprietary, and protective order material to the extent possible.

The procedures set forth in the following sections are designed to enable the Office to ensure as complete a patent file wrapper as possible while preventing unnecessary public disclosure of trade secrets, proprietary material, and protective order material.

724.02 Method of Submitting Trade Secret, Proprietary, and/or Protective Order Materials [R-01.2024]

Information which is considered by the party submitting the same to be either trade secret material or proprietary material, and any material subject to a protective order, must be clearly labeled as such and be filed in a sealed, clearly labeled, envelope or container. Each document or item must be clearly labeled as a “Trade Secret” document or item, a “Proprietary” document or item, or as an item or document “Subject To Protective Order.” It is essential that the terms “Confidential,” “Secret,” and “Restricted” or “Restricted Data” not be used when marking these documents or items in order to avoid confusion with national security information documents which are marked with these terms (note also MPEP § 121). If the item or document is “Subject to Protective Order” the proceeding, including the tribunal, must be set forth on each document or item. Of course, the envelope or container, as well as each of the documents or items, must be labeled with complete identifying information for the file to which it is directed, including the Office or area to which the envelope or container is directed.

Examples of appropriate labels for such an envelope or container addressed to an application are as follows: (Appropriate changes would be made for papers filed in a reexamination file.)

The envelope or container must be accompanied by a transmittal letter which also contains the same identifying information as the envelope or container. The transmittal letter must also state that the materials in the envelope or container are considered trade secrets or proprietary, or are subject to a protective order, and are being submitted for consideration under MPEP § 724. A petition under 37 CFR 1.59 and fee therefor (37 CFR 1.17(g)) to expunge the information, if found not to be material to patentability, should accompany the envelope or container.

In order to ensure that such an envelope or container is not mishandled, either prior to reaching the Office, or in the Office, the envelope or container should be hand-carried to the Customer Service Window. See MPEP § 501, subsection III for information regarding hand-delivery of papers.

The envelope or container may also be mailed to the Commissioner for Patents, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.

Upon receipt of the envelope or container, the Office will place the envelope or container in an Artifact folder.

724.03 Types of Trade Secret, Proprietary, and/or Protective Order Materials Submitted Under MPEP § 724.02 [R-11.2013]

The types of materials or information contemplated for submission under MPEP § 724.02 include information “material to patentability” but does not include information favorable to patentability. Thus, any trade secret, proprietary, and/or protective order materials which are required to be submitted on behalf of a patent applicant under 37 CFR 1.56 or patent owner under 37 CFR 1.555 can be submitted in accordance with MPEP § 724.02. Neither 37 CFR 1.56 nor 1.555 require the disclosure of information favorable to patentability, e.g., evidence of commercial success of the invention (see 42 FR 5590). Such information should not be submitted in accordance with MPEP § 724.02. If any trade secret, proprietary, and/or protective order materials are submitted in amendments, arguments in favor of patentability, or affidavits under 37 CFR 1.130, 1.131 or 1.132, they will be made of record in the file and will not be given any special status.

Insofar as protestors under 37 CFR 1.291(a) are concerned, submissions can be made in accordance with MPEP § 724.02 before the patent application is published, if protestor or petitioner has access to the application involved. After the patent application has been published under 35 U.S.C. 122(b)(1), no protest may be filed without the express consent of the applicant. Any submission filed by a protestor must follow the requirements for service. The Office cannot ensure that the party or parties served will maintain the information secret. If the party or parties served find it necessary or desirable to comment on material submitted under MPEP § 724 before it is, or without its being, found “material to patentability,” such comments should either (A) not disclose the details of the material or (B) be submitted in a separate paper under MPEP § 724.02.

724.04 Office Treatment and Handling of Materials Submitted Under MPEP § 724.02 [R-07.2015]

The exact methods of treating and handling materials submitted under MPEP § 724.02 will differ slightly depending upon whether the materials are submitted in an original application subject to the requirements of 35 U.S.C. 122 or whether the submission is made in a reissue application or reexamination file open to the public under 37 CFR 1.11(b) or (d). Prior to publication, an original application is not open to the public under 35 U.S.C. 122(a). After the application has been published under 35 U.S.C. 122(b)(1), copies of the file wrapper of the pending application are available to any member of the public who has filed a request under 37 CFR 1.14(a)(1)(ii) or (a)(1)(iii). See MPEP § 103.

If the application file and contents are available to the public pursuant to 37 CFR 1.11 or 1.14, any materials submitted under MPEP § 724.02 will only be released to the public with any other application papers if no petition to expunge (37 CFR 1.59) was filed prior to the mailing of a notice of allowability or notice of abandonment, or if a petition to expunge was filed and the petition was denied. Prior to the mailing of the notice of allowability or notice of abandonment, the examiner will review the patent application file and determine if a petition to expunge is in the application file but not acted upon. If the application is being allowed, if the materials submitted under MPEP § 724.02 are found not to be material to patentability, the petition to expunge will be granted and the materials will be expunged. If the materials are found to be material to patentability, the petition to expunge will be denied and the materials will become part of the application record and will be available to the public upon issuance of the application as a patent. With the mailing of the notice of abandonment, if a petition to expunge has been filed, irrespective of whether the materials are found to be material to patentability, the petition to expunge will be granted and the materials expunged.

Upon receipt of the submission, the transmittal letter and the envelope or container will be date stamped and brought to the attention of the examiner or other Office employee responsible for evaluating the submission. The receipt of the transmittal letter and envelope or container will be noted on the “Contents” of the application or reexamination file. In addition, the face of the application or reexamination file will have the notation placed thereon to indicate that trade secret, proprietary, or protective order material has been filed. The location of the material will also be specified. The words “TRADE SECRET MATERIALS FILED WHICH ARE NOT OPEN TO PUBLIC” on the face of the file are sufficient to indicate the presence of trade secret material. Similar notations will be made for either proprietary or protective order materials.

724.05 Petition To Expunge Information or Copy of Papers in Application File [R-01.2024]

I. INFORMATION SUBMITTED UNDER MPEP § 724.02

A petition under 37 CFR 1.59(b) to expunge information submitted under MPEP § 724.02, or that should have been submitted under MPEP § 724.02 (as where proprietary information is submitted in an information disclosure statement but inadvertently not submitted in a sealed envelope as discussed in MPEP § 724.02) will be entertained only if the petition fee (37 CFR 1.17(g)) is filed and the information has been found not to be material to patentability. If the information is found to be material to patentability, any petition to expunge the information will be denied. Any such petition to expunge information submitted under MPEP § 724.02 should be submitted at the time of filing the information under MPEP § 724.02 and directed to the Technology Center (TC) to which the application is assigned. Such petition must contain:

• (A) a clear identification of the information to be expunged without disclosure of the details thereof;
• (B) a clear statement that the information to be expunged is trade secret material, proprietary material, and/or subject to a protective order, and that the information has not been otherwise made public;
• (C) a commitment on the part of the petitioner to retain such information for the period of enforceability of any patent with regard to which such information is submitted;
• (D) a statement that the petition to expunge is being submitted by, or on behalf of, the party in interest who originally submitted the information;
• (E) the fee as set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(g) for a petition under 37 CFR 1.59(b).

Any such petition to expunge should accompany the submission of the information and, in any event, must be submitted in sufficient time that it can be acted on prior to the mailing of a notice of allowability or a notice of abandonment for original and reissue applications, or prior to, or shortly after (i.e., in time to be addressed before the reexamination proceeding enters the reexamination certificate printing process), the mailing of a Notice of Intent to Issue Reexamination Certificate (NIRC) for reexamination proceedings. Timely submission of the petition is, accordingly, extremely important. If the petition does not accompany the information when it is initially submitted, the petition should be submitted while the application or reexamination is pending in the Technology Center (TC) and before it is transmitted to the Publishing Division. If a petition to expunge is not filed prior to the mailing of a notice of allowability or a notice of abandonment for original and reissue applications, or prior to, or shortly after (i.e., in time to be addressed before the reexamination proceeding enters the reexamination certificate printing process), the mailing of a NIRC for reexamination proceedings, any material then in the file will remain therein and be open to the public in accordance with 37 CFR 1.14. Accordingly, it is important that both the submission of any material under MPEP § 724.02 and the submission of any petition to expunge occur as early as possible during the examination process. The decision will be held in abeyance and be decided upon the close of prosecution on the merits.

II. INFORMATION UNINTENTIONALLY SUBMITTED IN APPLICATION

A petition to expunge information unintentionally submitted in an application (other than information forming part of the original disclosure) may be filed under 37 CFR 1.59(b), provided that:

• (A) the Office can effect such return prior to the issuance of any patent on the application in issue;
• (B) it is stated that the information submitted was unintentionally submitted and the failure to obtain its return would cause irreparable harm to the party who submitted the information or to the party in interest on whose behalf the information was submitted;
• (C) the information has not otherwise been made public;
• (D) there is a commitment on the part of the petitioner to retain such information for the period of any patent with regard to which such information is submitted;
• (E) it is established to the satisfaction of the Director that the information to be returned is not material information under 37 CFR 1.56; and
• (F) the petition fee as set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(g) is included.

A request to expunge information that has not been clearly identified as information that may be later subject to such a request by marking and placement in a separate sealed envelope or container shall be treated on a case-by-case basis. Applicants should note that unidentified information that is a trade secret, proprietary, or subject to a protective order that is submitted in an Information Disclosure Statement may inadvertently be placed in an Office prior art search file by the examiner due to the lack of such identification and may not be retrievable.

III. INFORMATION SUBMITTED IN INCORRECT APPLICATION

37 CFR 1.59(b) also covers the situation where an unintended heading has been placed on papers so that they are present in an incorrect application file. In such a situation, a petition should request that the papers be expunged rather than transferred to the correct application file. The grant of such a petition will be governed by the factors enumerated in paragraph II of this section in regard to the unintentional submission of information. Where the Office can determine the correct application file that the papers were actually intended for, based on identifying information in the heading of the papers (e.g., application number, filing date, title of invention and inventor(s) name(s)), the Office will transfer the papers to the correct application file for which they were intended without the need of a petition. However, if the papers are correctly matched with the application serial number given in an electronic filing via the USPTO patent electronic filing system, the information is not considered to have been submitted in the incorrect application even if the identifying information in the heading of the papers is directed toward a different application.

IV. INFORMATION FORMING PART OF THE ORIGINAL DISCLOSURE

A petition to expunge a part of the original disclosure must be filed under 37 CFR 1.183, since such a request requires a waiver of the requirements of 37 CFR 1.59(a). Petitions under 37 CFR 1.183 should be directed to the Office of Petitions. The petition must explain why justice requires waiver of the rules to permit the requested material to be expunged. It should be noted that petitions to expunge information which is a part of the original disclosure, such as the specification and drawings, will ordinarily not be favorably entertained. The original disclosures of applications are scanned for record keeping purposes. Accordingly, the grant of a petition to expunge information which is part of the original disclosure would require that the USPTO record of the originally filed application be changed, which may not be possible.

724.06 Handling of Petitions To Expunge Information or Copy of Papers in Application File [R-07.2015]

37 CFR 1.59 provides that information, other than the original disclosure of the application, may be expunged from the file wrapper provided a petition to expunge under 37 CFR 1.59(b) and the required fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(g) are filed, and further that petitioner has established to the satisfaction of the Director that the return of the information is appropriate. Expungement of information that was originally submitted to the Office under MPEP § 724.02, or that should have been submitted in a sealed envelope as discussed in MPEP § 724.02, is appropriate when the petitioner complies with items (A)-(E) set forth in MPEP § 724.05, paragraph I, and the examiner or other appropriate Office official who is responsible for considering the information has determined that the information is not material to patentability. Expungement of information that was inadvertently submitted to the Office is appropriate provided that items (A)-(F) set forth in MPEP § 724.05, paragraph II, are satisfied. See also MPEP § 724.

Where the information to be expunged was not submitted pursuant to MPEP § 724.02 or as part of an Information Disclosure Statement, the petition should be sent to the Office of Petitions for decision.

The decision on the petition to expunge should be held in abeyance until the application is allowed or an Ex parte Quayle action, or a Notice of Abandonment is mailed, at which time the petition will be decided. However, where it is clear that the information was submitted in the wrong application, then the decision on the petition should not be held in abeyance. See MPEP § 724.05, paragraph III. In a pending application that has not been allowed or in which an Ex parte Quayle action has not been mailed, the examiner may not have finally considered what is material to a decision of patentability of the claims. Petitioner may be notified that the decision on the petition under 37 CFR 1.59(b) to expunge information in an application will be held in abeyance and be decided upon allowance of the application, or the mailing of an Ex parte Quayle action or a Notice of Abandonment using form paragraph 7.204.

When an application has been allowed, an Ex parte Quayle action has been mailed, or an application is abandoned, a petition to expunge should be decided by a TC Director (see MPEP § 1002.02(c)). At this time a determination must be made as to whether the information in question is material. Form paragraph 7.205 should be used to grant a petition to expunge, whereas form paragraphs 7.206 - 7.213 should be used to dismiss such a petition.