Examination of Applications and Proceedings in the Patent and Trademark Office
Applications, other than provisional applications, filed in the Patent and Trademark Office and accepted as complete applications are assigned for examination to the respective examining groups having charge of the areas of technology related to the invention. In the examining group, applications are taken up for examination by the examiner to whom they have been assigned in the order in which they have been filed or in accordance with examining procedures established by the Commissioner.
Applications will not be advanced out of turn for examination or for further action except as provided by the rules, or upon order of the Commissioner to expedite the business of the Office, or upon a verified showing which, in the opinion of the Commissioner, will justify advancing them.
The examination of the application consists of a study of the application for compliance with the legal requirements and a search through United States patents, foreign patent documents, and available literature, to see if the claimed invention is new and nonobvious. A decision is reached by the examiner in the light of the study and the result of the search.
As a result of the examination by the Office, patents are granted in the case of about two out of every three applications for patents which are filed.