Codes used by the US Patent office

Letter Codes for US Patents & Published Patent Applications

Commencing on January 1, 2002, letter Codes were added to United States Patents.

In 2002, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) began publishing Patent Applications that included letter Codes.

Some of the Letter Codes Used by the USPTO

Letter Code                    Document Type

A                                      Utility Patent Grant issued prior to January 2, 2001

A1                                    Utility Patent Application published on or after January 2, 2001

A2                                   Second or subsequent publication of a Utility Patent Application

A9                                   Correction published Utility Patent Application

Bn                                   Reexamination Certificate issued prior to January 2, 2001

B1                                   Utility Patent Grant without pre-grant publication issued on or after January 2, 2001

B2                                   Utility Patent Grant with pre-grant publication issued on or after January 2, 2001

Cn                                   Reexamination Certificate issued on or after January 2, 2001

E                                      Reissue Patent

S                                      Design Patent

If your company needs assistance with its intellectual properties, contact Business Patent Law, PLLC.

Ask Us Anything… about Intellectual Property!

If you or your business are located in the greater Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Lexington, or Louisville standard metropolitan statistical areas and have a topic or question you would like Business Patent Law, PLLC to address in the blog, please contact us.

Business Patent Law, PLLC provides intellectual property and business counsel for businesses and companies.  If you need assistance, please contact Business Patent Law, PLLC.

If you would like to stay up-to-date with news that impacts your business and intellectual property, sign up for Business Patent Law’s Monthly Mailer™ newsletter.