Fast, Competitively Priced Access to File Wrappers and More
A patent file history—also known as a file wrapper or prosecution history—is a record of all communications and documentations involved in the prosecution or patent examination process.
This includes all initial application documentation; all cited prior art; all office actions and documents; all statements and interview summaries; and any other relevant communications: objections, reexaminations, rejections, responses, amendments, etc.
A patent file history is important whether or not the application in question was ultimately accepted or rejected.
In critical instances, it acts as a map of sorts for inventors, investors, financiers, and business owners, providing insight into how the patent’s validity was evaluated. This becomes especially useful should the patent be subject in future to any litigation or infringement issues.
Contact Us
If you have questions regarding patent file histories, hard-to-find non-patent literature, and other documents for your legal support needs, call our office at (301) 637-6180 or fill out our inquiry form today.
Network partners across the globe to source your documents.
Our Process
If you need to obtain a US patent file history, we recommend that you first check the Public PAIR (Patent Application Information Retrieval) system of the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Click here.
However, bear in mind that US patent applications and any subsequent prosecution details were made electronically available only in mid-2003, so only the file histories of patents issued after this date can be downloaded from the Public PAIR database.
We’re often asked by clients to provide the file history of a recent US patent. If the file wrapper in question is available in the Public PAIR database, we deliver it to our clients at no cost. The same goes for foreign patent file histories—if we find them for free, we deliver them for free.
Should you need file histories for US patents issued before mid-2003, or foreign patent file histories that are not available for free, Legal Advantage LLC can order them through the earliest possible route and have them delivered to you for a competitive fee.
We can also provide copies of relevant non-patent literature such as journal articles and scientific reports. Our access to several libraries and databases gives us the ability to identify and obtain any hard-to-find non-patent literature for you with ease.
