EPO - Discussion forums

Posted: **Fri Jul 12, 2019 6:30 pm**

I am looking for utility model applications with a U.S. filing as a priority. I understand that, typically, one excludes the 9XX,XXX,XXX numbers for priority applications because they are artificial. However, I would appreciate some additional information on what those artificial applications are in this context and whether they are ever useful.

Specifically,

1. Is it correct that artificial priority documents (9XX,XXX,XXX) from the U.S. represent provisional patent applications? Is this why they are not in DOCDB?

2. Are all U.S. artificial priority documents provisionals? If not, what else can they be?

3. Are the US artificial priority documents replenished if a provisional is converted to a standard application?

4. Is there any way to obtain the provisional patent application number and applicant name if it is never converted?

Thank you for any information you can provide!

Posted: **Thu Aug 22, 2019 10:08 am**

In the data catalog we explain the artificial applications as follows (page 29 vers. 5.13 amend 1):

“Artificial applications are added to PATSTAT to manage doubt about applications which have not been captured in the DOCDB database from which PATSTAT is built. There are several cases:
- Application replenishment for priorities
- Application replenishment from citations...”

In other words, these artificial applications are created in order to guarantee that the logical structure of the database remains intact even in cases where data is not available:

a. we have a publication number but no corresponding application number, or
b. we have a priority number that is used only as a priority and not as an application.

This basically means that artificial applications are indeed used to represent US provisional applications (as per definition these are no true applications, thus they will not have a publication ==> case b.). However, artificial applications are used to represent also any other priority number that is not used as application, not just provisional applications.

Please find the replies to your questions below:

1. Is it correct that artificial priority documents (9XX,XXX,XXX) from the U.S. represent provisional patent applications? Is this why they are not in DOCDB?
==> this is true, see above, but not only!

2. Are all U.S. artificial priority documents provisionals? If not, what else can they be?
==> No, see above. Any application withdrawn but used further as priority. For instance publication US 5856877 A (Espacenet link for sake of simplicity https://worldwide.espacenet.com/publica ... cale=en_EP) is a continuation of application US257921 filed on 10 June 1994, abandoned.

Or in PATSTAT:

Code: Select all

SELECT publn_auth+publn_nr+publn_kind
      ,publn_date, parent.appln_id as [artificial appln_id]
      ,appln_auth+appln_nr+appln_kind parent
	  ,contn_type, appln_filing_date
FROM tls211_pat_publn
  join tls216_appln_contn on tls211_pat_publn.appln_id = tls216_appln_contn.appln_id
  join tls201_appln parent on tls216_appln_contn.parent_appln_id = parent.appln_id
where publn_auth = 'US' and publn_nr = '5856877'

Thus (parent)application US257921 will never have a publication associated to it. As a consequence this application will only appear as a priority in DOCDB (or a "parent" in PATSTAT). In order to have a consistent tls201_appln table in PATSTAT, an artificial application for US257921 is created.

3. Are the US artificial priority documents replenished if a provisional is converted to a standard application?
==> If the standard application is published and the EPO receives the data, then there is no need for an artificial priority application. But for any provisional that is mentioned on an official US publication, an artificial application (with a >900.000.000 appln_id) will be needed in order to guarantee the data base consistency.

4. Is there any way to obtain the provisional patent application numbers and applicant names if it is never converted?
==> No, not that we know of.

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Utility Model Artificial (Dummy) Applications

Utility Model Artificial (Dummy) Applications

Re: Utility Model Artificial (Dummy) Applications