MPEP Section 707.06, Citation of Decisions, Orders Memorandums, and Notices

Executive summary:

This document contains Section 707.06 ("Citation of Decisions, Orders Memorandums, and Notices") of the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (the "M.P.E.P."), Eighth Edition, Eighth Revision (July 2010). This page was last updated in January 2011. You may return to the section index to find a particular section. Alternatively, you may search the MPEP using the search box that appears on the left side of every page of BitLaw--you may restrict your search to the MPEP on the search results page.

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707.06 Citation of Decisions, Orders Memorandums, and Notices [R-2]

In citing court decisions, the USPQ citation should be given and, when it is convenient to do so, the U.S., CCPA or Federal Reporter citation should also be provided.

The citation of manuscript decisions which are not available to the public should be avoided.

It is important to recognize that a federal district court decision that has been reversed on appeal cannot be cited as authority.

In citing a manuscript decision which is available to the public but which has not been published, the tribunal rendering the decision and complete data identifying the paper should be given. Thus, a decision of the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences which has not been published but which is available to the public in the patented file should be cited, as " Ex parte - -, decision of the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, Patent No. - - -, paper No. - -, - - - pages."

Decisions found only in patented files should be cited only when there is no published decision on the same point.

When a *>Director's< order, notice or memorandum not yet incorporated into this manual is cited in any official action, the title and date of the order, notice or memorandum should be given. When appropriate other data, such as a specific issue of the Journal of the Patent and Trademark Office Society or of the Official Gazette in which the same may be found, should also be given.