Patent Terms Glossary

PCT

Definition:
Patent Cooperation Treaty - provides a mechanism by which an applicant can file a single application that, when certain requirements have been fulfilled, is equivalent to a regular national filing in each designated Contracting State.

IFW

Definition:
Image File Wrapper - an electronic version of a patent application, including image and/or text versions of the bibliographic information, all papers as filed, and all office actions and correspondence related to that application.

PALM

Definition:
Patent Application Locating and Monitoring system - an internal USPTO system that is the source of status information displayed in PAIR .

Novel

Definition:
A patent must be new or original. That is, the invention must never have been made in public in any way, anywhere, before the date on which the application for a patent is filed.

National Stage Application

Definition:
An application which has entered the national phase of the Patent Cooperation Treaty by the fulfillment of certain requirements in a national Office, which is an authority entrusted with the granting of national or regional patents.

Practitioner

Definition:
One who stands for or acts on behalf of another. A patent attorney or patent agent may represent the inventors named in a patent application.

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