MPEP 202

202 Cross-Noting

202.02 Notation in File History Regarding Prior U.S. Applications, Including Provisional Applications

The front page of a printed patent identifies all prior applications for which benefits are claimed under 35 U.S.C. 119(e), 120, 121, or 365(c) in continuation-in-part, continuation, divisional, substitute, and reissue applications.

If a patent applicant claims benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) to a prior provisional application, and states that the provisional application claims priority to earlier domestic or foreign application(s), the earlier application(s) should not be reflected on the PALM bib-data sheet because a provisional application is not entitled to the right of priority of any other application. See 35 U.S.C. 111(b)(7).

The inclusion of prior application information in the patent does not necessarily indicate that the claims are entitled to the benefit of the earlier filing date.

202.04 In Oath or Declaration

37 CFR 1.63 requires that the oath or declaration must identify any foreign application for patent (or inventor's certificate) for which a claim for priority is made pursuant to 37 CFR 1.55, and any foreign application having a filing date before that of the application on which priority is claimed, by specifying the application number, country, day, month, and year of its filing, unless such information is supplied on an application data sheet in accordance with 37 CFR 1.76.