Person Skilled in the ArtA fictitious person who has knowledge of all prior art and who has ordinary skill in the art to which the invention pertains. MPEP 2141.03.
PetitionPetition refers to the Form I-129 that is filed with USCIS by a prospective H-1B employer seeking approval to employ an H-1B worker and its accompanying…
Petition for Extension of TimeA petition requesting an extension of the time period for response to an Office action. Payment of a fee is sometimes required. MPEP 710.02(e).
Petition to ReviveA petition that a patent application be revived from either unintentional or unavoidable abandonment. MPEP 711.03(c).
PetitionforCertiorariA petition to the U.S. Supreme Court to review the decision of a lower court.
petitions (patent matters)-- see MPEP 711.03 and Petitions Practice within the USPTO on Patent Matters for information
PG PubPre-Grant Publication of patent application at 18 months from priority date
Pioneer InventionAn invention that breaks new ground in a technological art or that creates a new art.
Pioneer PatentA patent on an invention that breaks new ground in a technological art or that creates a new art.
PKIPublic Key Infrastructure - a system of administrative procedures and methods, combined with secure information technologies, that is used to manage…
plant application (patent)are applications to protect invented or discovered, asexually reproduced plant varieties.
plant patentmay be granted to anyone who invents or discovers and asexually reproduces any distinct and new variety of plant. --see also patent
POAPower of Attorney - formal assignment to another of the right to legally act on your behalf
POISPatent Cooperation Treaty Operations Imaging System
postcard receipta self-addressed, stamped postcard with itemized list of parts of patent application and number of pages per MPEP 503; used as a receipt for what was…
PowerAuthority to do. One has the power to do something if he is of legal age. Also, used as "powers," the term refers to authority granted by one person to…
preambleThe formal introductory clause of a patent claim. Depending on the circumstances, the preamble may or may not define a narrowing element of the claim.
Preamble of ClaimThe part of the claim that precedes the transitional phrase. Often the preamble states the purpose of the invention, as in "A device for transporting cars…
precautionary designationdesignation of a Contracting State in an international application filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty which must be confirmed prior to 15 months…
PrecedentLaws established by previous cases which must be followed in actions involving identical circumstances. See stare decisis in Foreign Words Glossary.
preferred embodimentThe preferred embodiment of an invention can usually be interpreted as being recited as the best mode known to the inventor of carrying out the invention.
prejudgment interestIn patent litigation, prejudgment interest is interest on monetary judgment against an infringer awarded to a prevailing party measured from the date of…
Preliminary AmendmentAn amendment to a patent application filed simultaneously with the filing of the patent application or an amendment to a patent application filed before…
Preliminary ExaminationA preindictment hearing at which the prosecutor must present evidence sufficient to establish probable cause that a federal offense was committed and that…
Preliminary Examination ReportA report notifying an applicant of the results of an International Preliminary Examination. MPEP 1860.
Preliminary StatementIn an interference proceeding, a statement made under oath that sets out who made an invention and where and when it was made. MPEP 2321, MPEP 2322.
primary examinera patent examiner who is fully authorized to sign office actions (signatory authority) regarding patentability
Principal Registerprimary trademark register of the USPTO. When a mark has been registered on the Principal Register, the mark is entitled to all the rights provided by the…
PrinTEASa former feature of the USPTO's electronic filing system that allowed applicants to complete a trademark application on-line, and then print it out for…
prior artit's what we live for! It is technology or knowledge of technology, existing in the public domain, in the form of existing patents, trade publications…
Prior Public UseDisplay of an unpatented invention under circumstances in which the invention enters the public domain. MPEP 2133.01(a).
prior-art statementAlso known as an information disclosure statement, this is a document filed in the U.S.
priorityThe Bankruptcy Code's statutory ranking of unsecured claims that determines the order in which unsecured claims will be paid if there is not enough money…
priority actiona letter in which an examining attorney sets forth specific requirements that the applicant must meet before an application can be approved for…
priority claimAn unsecured claim that is entitled to be paid ahead of other unsecured claims that are not entitled to priority status.
Priority DateThe filing date of the first patent application disclosing an invention, which filing date has occurred no more than 12 months before the filing date of a…
Priority DocumentA certified copy of a patent application filed no more than 12 months before the filing date of the later-filed application claiming the priority date of…
PRMPerformance Reference Model - a standardized framework to measure the performance of major IT investments and their contribution to program performance --…
pro seA nonlawyer who represents himself or herself in a court proceeding.
Pro se ApplicantAn applicant for patent (inventor) who is representing himself/herself. MPEP 401, MPEP 707.07(j).
processA method of making something, a process of operating something or a process of using something. Under U.S. law, one of the statutory classes of inventions.
ProductA machine, an article of manufacture or a composition of matter. See Machine, Article of Manufacture, Composition of Matter. MPEP 2106.
Product By Process ClaimA patent claim that describes a product invention by descibing the process that is used to make it.
Product of NatureA thing occurring in nature that is substantially unaltered by Man. An essentially pure culture of a microorganism does not occur in nature and is not…
profitsDirect recovery of the patent infringer's profits is not possible in a case of infringement of a utility patent, but may, under proper circumstances, be…
Prolix ClaimA claim that contains long recitations or unimportant details that render the claim indefinite. MPEP 2173.05(m).
propertyFor this survey, property means real estate; that is, land and anything permanently affixed to the land, such as buildings and those things attached to…
proprietary informationInformation that is not generally known and that has competitive value, e.g., trade secrets and business information not generally known.
prosecutionThe process of fact finding and negotiation of patent claim language that occurs during the time that a patent application is pending and under…
Prosecution HistoryThe history of the prosecution of a patent application. See Prosecution.
prosecution history estoppelthe other side of the coin from doctrine of equivalence; in patent infringement lawsuits, it tends to favor the accused infringer.
ProtestA communication by a member of the public to a patent office arguing and providing evidence that the granting of a patent would be improper. MPEP 1901.
Provisional ApplicationA type of U.S. utility patent application that is used to establish priority of invention. It need not contain a claim and cannot issue as a patent.
provisional patent applicationa provisional application for patent is a U. S. national application for patent filed in the USPTO under 35 U.S.C. § 111(b).
pseudo markA way of locating a word mark that is comprised of an alternative or intentionally corrupted spelling of an English word.
PSIPSPublication Site for Issued and Published Sequences -- also see bio-sequence listings
Public SaleA sale or offer to sell an invention to a member of the public. A sale need not be public to bar a patent under U.S. law. MPEP 2133.03, MPEP 2133.03(b).
Public UseUtilization of a completed invention in a nonexperimental manner in public, i.e.
publicationAny document that is available to the public anywhere in the world. MPEP 2128, MPEP 2128.01, MPEP 2128.02.
publication for oppositionIf the examining attorney raises no objections to registration, or if the applicant overcomes all objections, the examining attorney will approve the mark…
publication numbera number assigned to the publication of patent applications filed on or after November 29, 2000.
Published ApplicationA patent application that has been published by a patent office during its prosection (before issue).
PubsPatent Publication, Office of -- see Patent Publication for more
Quayle ActionAn action requiring correction of informalities after an application is otherwise in condition of allowance. MPEP 714.14, MPEP 706.07(f), MPEP 710.02(b).
RAMRandom Access Memory - the hardware inside a computer that retains memory on a short-term basis and stores information while the user utilizes the…
Rationale for PatentabilityThe reasoning behind a decision that a claimed invention is patentable. MPEP 1302.14.
RCERequest for Continued Examination a request filed in an application in which prosecution is closed (e.g.
Reads OnA claim includes within its scope certain subject matter.
record copyoriginal copy of an international application filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty maintained by the International Bureau of the World Intellectual…
recordation form cover sheetUSPTO form that trademark owners use to record trademark assignments (changes in ownership of marks for applications and registrations) and a trademark…
redacted publicationa patent application publication that omits material that was present in the specification or claims of the nonprovisional patent application filed in the…
reduction to practiceThe physical part of the inventive process that completes the process of invention. Until there is a reduction of practice, there is no invention.
Reduction to Practice, ActualBuilding a physical embodiment of an invention and testing it under conditions that would indicate to a person skilled in the art that the invention was…
Reduction to Practice, ConstructiveFiling a patent application that explains how to make and how to use an invention in sufficient detail that a person skilled in the art could practice the…
ReexaminationExamination of the patentability of an invention claimed in an issued U.S. patent at the request of the USPTO, the patent owner or a third party.