Hi simon815!
The short answer is that this information is available over the
internet, and you can find it for free.
After searching the USPTO.gov site, I came across this little FAQ:
http://www.uspto.gov/main/faq/
There is a question in the left hand pane - 'How do I obtain the
status of a patent?'. The solution is given as follows:
"How do I obtain the status of a patent?
The Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system permits
third parties to obtain information about applications that have been
published pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 122(b) and issued patents, such as the
status of maintenance fee payments and whether or not a reissue
application or reexamination request has been filed. PAIR can be
accessed on the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) web
site at http://pair.uspto.gov/cgi-bin/final/home.pl. (...)"
It seemed clear that reexamination requests are deemed public
knowledge and available on this site.
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So, to discover if a patent is under reexamination, follow these steps:
1. Go to http://pair.uspto.gov/cgi-bin/final/home.pl
2. In the drop-down menu, choose 'Patent Number'. Then enter the
appropriate Patent number in the box and click search.
3. On the following page, there is a summary of information relating
to the particular patent. There is a small box on the left table
that describes 'Status'. In fact, this box does not indicate whether
a request for reexamination has been issued for this patent.
4. Instead, scroll down to the window entitled 'Select search
option'. Select 'Continuity data' and click search.
5. Scroll to the bottom of the resultant page. There is a list of
all applications filed in relation to the patent in question. If
there IS NOT an entry under 'Child Continuity Data', a reexamination
request has not been yet been received by USPTO.
6. However, if there is an entry, it is possibly a reexamination
application. Click on each entry to see the details of the
application. If under 'Application Type' (in the left table), the box
reads 'Re-examination' , then the patent has/had a re-examination
lodged against it.
7. You may then view the history of this request under the table
marked 'File History'. Note that a re-examination request is
comprised of 2 stages - the former is a short stage to confirm that
the request has enough validity to fully re-examine the patent. This
stage requires a letter of defence from the patent owner, and possibly
another letter from the person(s) who filed the re-examination in
response to the defence. An entry marked 'Determination - Reexam
Ordered' in the 'File History' means that the entry has passed this
first stage.
8. You may read the history of the re-examination to discover the
current stage of the re-examination, and also examine the box marked
'Status' in the top left corner.
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I thought it would be appropriate to give you an example, just in the
case that the particular patent you wish to view does not have an item
under 'Child Continuity Data', and hence you might feel unsure as to
whether you have followed the process correctly. It probably will not
be necessary, but no harm can be done in including these:
Patent number 6,455,275 has had a file of re-examination filed against
it. The re-examination is underway.
Patent number 4,496,066 has had a file of re-examination filed against
it, deemed successful, but was later reversed in the court of appeals.
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I hope this helps you simon815. If you are in need of any
clarification on this answer, please don't be afraid to ask. Thank
you for the question, and good luck with your patent searching!
bobby_d-ga
Google Answers Researcher. |
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