Title 35 — PatentsRelease 119-73
§133 Time for prosecuting application
Title 35 › Part PART II— - PATENTABILITY OF INVENTIONS AND GRANT OF PATENTS › Chapter CHAPTER 12— - EXAMINATION OF APPLICATION › § 133
Summary
Failure to respond within six months to an action mailed or sent to the applicant, or to a Director-set deadline of at least thirty days, abandons the application.
Full Legal Text
Title 35, §133
Patents — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Upon failure of the applicant to prosecute the application within six months after any action therein, of which notice has been given or mailed to the applicant, or within such shorter time, not less than thirty days, as fixed by the Director in such action, the application shall be regarded as abandoned by the parties thereto.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on Title 35, U.S.C., 1946 ed., § 37 (R.S. 4894, amended (1) Mar. 3, 1897, ch. 391, § 4, 29 Stat. 692, 693, (2) July 6, 1916, ch. 225, § 1, 39 Stat. 345, 347–8, (3) Mar. 2, 1927, ch. 273, § 1, 44 Stat. 1335, (4) Aug. 7, 1939, ch. 568, 53 Stat. 1264). The opening clause of the corresponding section of existing statute is omitted as having no present day meaning or value and the last two sentences are omitted for inclusion in section 267. The notice is stated as given or mailed. Language is revised.
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2012—Pub. L. 112–211 struck out “, unless it be shown to the satisfaction of the Director that such delay was unavoidable” before period at end. 2002—Pub. L. 107–273 made technical correction to directory language of Pub. L. 106–113. See 1999 Amendment note below. 1999—Pub. L. 106–113, as amended by Pub. L. 107–273, substituted “Director” for “Commissioner” in two places.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
of 2012 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 112–211 effective on the date that is 1 year after Dec. 18, 2012, applicable to patents issued before, on, or after that
Effective Date
and patent applications pending on or filed after that
Effective Date
, and not effective with respect to patents in litigation commenced before that
Effective Date
, see section 203 of Pub. L. 112–211, set out as an
Effective Date
note under section 27 of this title.
Effective Date
of 1999 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 106–113 effective 4 months after Nov. 29, 1999, see section 1000(a)(9) [title IV, § 4731] of Pub. L. 106–113, set out as a note under section 1 of this title.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
35 U.S.C. § 133
Title 35 — Patents
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73