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Title 35, PatentsRelease 119-102

§307 Certificate of Patentability, Unpatentability, and Claim Cancellation

Title 35 › PART III — PATENTS AND PROTECTION OF PATENT RIGHTS › CHAPTER 30 — PRIOR ART CITATIONS TO OFFICE AND EX PARTE REEXAMINATION OF PATENTS › § 307

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

When a patent is reexamined and the time to appeal is over or any appeal ends, the Director must issue a certificate. That certificate will cancel any claim finally found unpatentable, confirm any claim found patentable, and put into the patent any amended or new claim that is found patentable. Any amended or new claim added this way will have the same effect as for reissued patents under section 252 for anyone who, before the certificate was issued, made, bought, used, or imported the claimed invention in the United States, or who made substantial preparations to do so.

Full Legal Text

Title 35, §307

Patents, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In a reexamination proceeding under this chapter, when the time for appeal has expired or any appeal proceeding has terminated, the Director will issue and publish a certificate canceling any claim of the patent finally determined to be unpatentable, confirming any claim of the patent determined to be patentable, and incorporating in the patent any proposed amended or new claim determined to be patentable.
(b)Any proposed amended or new claim determined to be patentable and incorporated into a patent following a reexamination proceeding will have the same effect as that specified in section 252 for reissued patents on the right of any person who made, purchased, or used within the United States, or imported into the United States, anything patented by such proposed amended or new claim, or who made substantial preparation for the same, prior to issuance of a certificate under the provisions of subsection (a) of this section.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2011—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 112–29 struck out “of this title” after “252”. 2002—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 107–273 made technical correction to directory language of Pub. L. 106–113. See 1999 Amendment note below. 1999—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 106–113, as amended by Pub. L. 107–273, substituted “Director” for “Commissioner”. 1994—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 103–465 substituted “used within the United States, or imported into the United States, anything” for “used anything”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2011 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 112–29 effective upon the expiration of the 1-year period beginning on Sept. 16, 2011, and applicable to proceedings commenced on or after that

Effective Date

, see section 20(l) of Pub. L. 112–29, set out as a note under section 2 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.

Effective Date

of 1994 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 103–465 effective on date that is one year after date on which the WTO Agreement enters into force with respect to the United States [Jan. 1, 1995], with provisions relating to earliest filed patent application, see section 534(a), (b)(3) of Pub. L. 103–465, set out as a note under section 154 of this title.

Effective Date

Section effective
July 1, 1981, and applicable to patents in force as of
July 1, 1981, or issued thereafter, see section 8(b) of Pub. L. 96–517, set out as an

Effective Date

of 1980 Amendment note under section 41 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

35 U.S.C. § 307

Title 35, Patents

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102