LSDefine
Simple English definitions for legal terms
A quick definition of informal application:
An informal
application is a type of request for a patent that is not in the correct form as required by the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office. This means that it may be printed on both sides of the paper, or not be permanent, legible, or reproducible. However, it can still be corrected and retain the original
filing date. Other types of patent applications include
provisional applications, which establish a date for
prior art and
constructive reduction to practice, and divisional applications, which are
based on the same disclosure as the original application but claim a different invention.
A more thorough explanation:
An informal application is a patent application that does not meet the requirements set by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. This can include applications that are printed on both sides of the paper, not permanent, legible, or reproducible. However, an informal application can be corrected and still retain the original filing date.
For example, if an inventor submits an application that is not legible, they can correct the issue and still keep the original filing date. This means that they will not lose any time in the patent application process.
informal agency action |
informal consideration