national stage applicationan application which has entered the national phase of the Patent Cooperation Treaty by the fulfillment of certain requirements in a national Office…
Native American Tribal Insigniainsignia that various federally and state recognized Native American tribes have identified as their official tribal insignia -- see Native American…
Negative LimitationA claim limitation that is excusive, e.g., "other than X" "incapable of X", etcetera. MPEP 2173.05(i).
New IssueWhen a stock or bond is offered for sale for the first time, it's considered a new issue.
New MatterMatter (information) that is not present in the original specification, claims or drawings that an applicant attempts to add to a patent application.
New UseOne of the classes of patentable subject matter under U.S. law.
NIPLECCNational Intellectual Property Law Enforcement Coordination Council
non exclusive licenseA grant under a patent with reservation by the licensor to make a similar grant to others.
non obviousIn order for a patent to be granted, the claimed invention must be "non obvious" to one of "ordinary skill in the art".
Non-Convention ApplicationA patent application filed in a second, or subsequent country which does not claim the priority of another, earlier application in another country.
non-final office actionan Office action letter that raises new issues and usually is the first phase of the examination process.
non-final office action (rejection)an Office action made by the examiner where the applicant is entitled to reply and request reconsideration or further examination, with or without making…
non-lawyera person who is not an attorney or lawyer. -- see 37 CFR § 10.14(b)
Non-ObviousnessThe opposite of obviousness. See Obviousness.
non-responsive amendmentan amendment filed by the applicant that does not fully respond to the examiner's office action in accordance with 37 CFR 1.111 -- see MPEP 714.02
nonprofit organizationfor purposes of small entity determination per MPEP 509.02 - (1) a university or other institution of higher education located in any country; (2) an…
notice (also marking)Placing the word "patent" with the patent number on articles made by the patentee or a licensee.
notice of abandonmenta written notification from the USPTO that an application has been declared abandoned or, in other words, is no longer pending.
notice of allowabilitya notification to the patent applicant that the application has been placed in condition for allowance -- see MPEP 1302.03 Notice of Allowability for more
notice of allowanceNOA - a written notification from the USPTO that a specific mark has survived the opposition period following publication in the Official Gazette, and has…
notice of allowance and fees dueNOA, a notification to the applicant that they are entitled to a patent under the law and requesting payment of a specified issue fee (and possibly a…
Notice of Allowance and Issue Fee DueA notice by the USPTO that the application has been placed in a condition for allowance and that the issue fee must be paid within three months of the…
Notice of AppealA document filed in the trial court that informs the trial court that the party intends to appeal the lower court’s decision.
notice of publicationa written statement from the USPTO notifying an applicant that its mark will be published in the Official Gazette.
notice of references citedalso known as a PTO-892 form. A list of relevant references cited by a patent examiner in an Office action.
noveltyNew; not anticipated by (taught by) the prior art. MPEP 2131.
NPLNon Patent Literature -- documents and publications that are not patents or published patent applications but are cited as references for being relevant…