Supplemental Examination Fundamentals

Summary

This practice note discusses Supplemental Examination (SE), an important but relatively underutilized America Invents Act (AIA) U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) procedure that is available to patent owners to strengthen their patents. Included in this practice note is a summary of data on requests for SE filed since the procedure was first introduced in 2012 through Sept. 30, 2020. These data are instructive for patent owners in deciding whether to file an SE request and serve to highlight some of the advantages of the procedure.