Patent Terms Glossary

Inventor

Definition:
One who contributes to the conception of an invention. The patent law of the United States of America requires that the applicant in a patent application must be the inventor.

Substantive Reasons For Refusal

Definition:
There are several substantive reasons for refusing registration of a mark. These include: likelihood of confusion; primarily merely descriptive or deceptively misdescriptive of the goods/services.

Citation Counts

Definition:
Citation counts are a formal acknowledgement of intellectual debt to earlier patents and previously published scientific research papers.

Office Action

Definition:
A letter from a trademark examining attorney setting forth the legal status of a trademark application. There are several types of Office actions: examiner’s amendments, priority actions, and suspension inquiry letters.

Opposition Proceeding

Definition:
A proceeding before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board in which the plaintiff seeks to prevent the issuance of a registration of a mark.

Change Of Name

Definition:
Sometimes, owners of trademark applications and registrations change their names, even though the actual ownership of the application or registration has not been transferred.

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