RE: US equivalent to EP 1,159,137

Kazimierz,

The answer on the first question is appear to be clear. I am interested that somebody comment my reply on 2 and 3 questions.

>>1. What does the number "US 20010914868" represent?


It is apparently US national application number (09/914868), and 20010904 is 371(c) date, the date when requirement of 35 U.S.C. 371 (c) performed for a commencement of US national phase of a PCT application (http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/documents/appxl_35_U_S_C_371.htm#usc35s371).

Let's compare legal status information for WO 200051818 and WO 200051819 (chosen as an example)

Legal status (INPADOC) of WO0051818

  PRS Date : 2001/09/04
   PRS Code : ENP US
   Code Expl.: ENTRY INTO THE NATIONAL PHASE IN:
      CORRESP. PATENT D.: 2001 914868
      KD OF CORRESP. PAT.: A
      PUBL. DATE CORR. P.: 20010904
      FILING(F)/PUBLIC(P): F


Legal status (INPADOC) of WO0051819


 PRS Date : 2000/11/02
   PRS Code : ENP US
   Code Expl.: ENTRY INTO THE NATIONAL PHASE IN:
      CORRESP. PATENT D.: 2000 673653
      KD OF CORRESP. PAT.: A
      PUBL. DATE CORR. P.: 20001102
      FILING(F)/PUBLIC(P): F


For WO0051819 there is an issued patent:

Patent number: US6589708
Publication date: 2003-07-08
Inventor: KATANO YASUO (JP); TOMITA SATORU (JP); MORIKAWA MINORU (JP); HARA KEI (JP)
Applicant: RICOH KK (JP)
Application number: US20000673653 20001102
Priority number(s): JP19990053587 19990302; WO1999JP01081 19990305

And this is from PAIR for 09/673653

Application Number: 09/673,653
Filing or 371 (c) Date: 11-02-2000
First Named Inventor: Yasuo Katano , Kanagawa, (JP)
Status: Patented Case
Status Date: 06-19-2003
Patent Number: 6,589,708
Issue Date of Patent: 07-08-2003


>>2. In view of the above, is it possible that the corresponding US
application is still pending and remains confidential?

In accordance with

35 U.S.C. 374, "...an international application designating the United States shall be deemed a publication under section 122(b)..." and "shall be published...promptly after the expiration of a period of 18 months from the earliest filing date " with exception of 35 U.S.C. 122 (b)(2)(A)(i) that application is (i) no longer pending. etc.
http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/documents/appxl_35_U_S_C_374.htm
http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/documents/usc35s122

Therefore, it is possible to suggest that the likely reason why 09/914868 was not published because it was abandoned.

>>>3. Assuming that the number "US 20010914868" contains a serial number of an
UNPUBLISHED patent application, how this information has entered the public
domain?

This is a good question. It is appear that communication from national office to the International Bureau, that PCT application entered a national phase contains national application number and a date of commencement of a national phase. It is unclear for me, should date of entry and national application number kept confidential under Article 30 of PCT (or US national law)
http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/documents/appxt_a30.htm#pctarticle-30

Best Regards,

Alex.

Regards,
Aleksandr Belinskiy
Patent Information Scientist
Patent Department
sanofi-aventis
 

1041 Routes 202/206
P.O. Box. 6800, Mail Stop BW-D-203A,
Bridgewater, NJ 08807-0800
Phone : (908) 231-3294 Fax: (908) 231-4766
E-mail: aleksandr.belinskiy_at_sanofi-aventis.com



-----Original Message-----
From: owner-piug-l_at_derwent.co.uk [mailto:owner-piug-l_at_derwent.co.uk]On
Behalf Of Kazimierz Kaminski
Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2005 2:07 AM
To: piug-l_at_derwent.co.uk
Subject: US equivalent to EP 1,159,137


Dear all,

I recently came across a situation which raised questions I wish I knew
answers to. I hope that somebody will be able to shed some light on what is
a mystery to me.

Looking for possible US equivalent(s) to EP 1,159,137, I checked its INPADOC
patent family record, where I found the following entry:


UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (US)
  Legal Status (No,Type,Date,Code,Text):
     US 20010914868 A 20010904 US REFW CORRESPONDS TO PCT
                              APPLICATION
                              WO 200051818 P


(I found a similar entry in Esp_at_cenet database, when checking "INPADOC legal
status" of WO 200051818 (or WO0051818), where the date of 20010904 was
additionally qualified as "publication date". There is no US equivalent of
EP 1,159,137 or WO0051818 according to "INPADOC patent family" information
provided by Esp_at_cenet database. The USA appears among the designated states
of the PCT application published as WO 200051818.)

The above raises the following questions:

1. What does the number "US 20010914868" represent?

Even though consistent with the format used by USPTO for publication numbers
(and assuming no data entry errors), this number seems way too high to be a
publication number. Assuming that the number represents a combination of a
US filing year (US national entry year) and a US filing (serial) number
makes things no better. Is the number "0914868" a combination of the series
code "09" and the serial number "14868" (i.e., 09/14868), or is it simply a
serial number "914868" with leading zero added to comply with a format's
requirement? To make the long story short, searches of USPTO databases of
patents and published patent applications, and the Public PAIR based on all
the above assumptions plus the name of the inventor and assignee of EP
1,159,137 failed to locate any US equivalent of the latter.

2. In view of the above, is it possible that the corresponding US
application is still pending and remains confidential?

This is not a trivial question, for me at least. WO 200051818 claims
priority from FR 1999/2515 filed March 1, 1999. As the preliminary
examination of the PCT application was requested, it likely entered the US
national phase under Chapter 2 of the PCT, i.e., in 30 months from the
priority date, which apparently almost fits the date of September 4, 2001
shown in the INPADOC record and in Esp_at_cenet database (September 1, 2001 was
a Saturday). However, it seems that with such a US filing date, this
application should have been published. Is it possible that this has not
happened and, if so, why?

3. Assuming that the number "US 20010914868" contains a serial number of an
UNPUBLISHED patent application, how this information has entered the public
domain? My understanding is that any data regarding US unpublished patent
applications (including their serial numbers) remain confidential until a
patent is granted.

Any enlightenment regarding the above-raised questions would be greatly
appreciated.

Kazimierz T. Kaminski, Ph.D.
ktk_at_infoscitech.ca

InfoSciTech
5929 Jeanne d'Arc Blvd.
Suite 112
Orleans, ON
K1C 7K2
Canada

tel (613) 824-9076
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Received on Wed Oct 12 2005 - 19:20:20