Third Party Observations in the U.S.

Prior Art Party: (Almost) Everyone’s Invited!

In the United States, third‑party observations offer a means for external parties to contribute to the examination of patent applications, sharing potentially relevant prior art to influence patentability. In practice, these observations allow outside parties to submit published documents to the USPTO that may affect whether an application should be granted, thereby introducing an additional quality‑control mechanism into the examination process. This raises several important questions regarding timing, content, and strategic use.

Timing

Authorized under 35 U.S.C. § 122(e) , third‑party submissions must be filed within strict statutory windows. A submission is valid only if filed before the earlier of :

The date a notice of allowance