[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 37, Volume 1]
[Revised as of July 1, 2008]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 37CFR1.9]

[Page 18-19]
 
              TITLE 37--PATENTS, TRADEMARKS, AND COPYRIGHTS
 
  CHAPTER I--UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE, DEPARTMENT OF 
                                COMMERCE
 
PART 1_RULES OF PRACTICE IN PATENT CASES--Table of Contents
 
                      Subpart A_General Provisions
 
Sec. 1.9  Definitions.

    (a)(1) A national application as used in this chapter means a U.S. 
application for patent which was either filed in the Office under 35 
U.S.C. 111, or which entered the national stage from an international 
application after compliance with 35 U.S.C. 371.
    (2) A provisional application as used in this chapter means a U.S. 
national application for patent filed in the Office under 35 U.S.C. 
111(b).
    (3) A nonprovisional application as used in this chapter means a 
U.S. national application for patent which was either filed in the 
Office under 35 U.S.C. 111(a), or which entered the national stage from 
an international application after compliance with 35 U.S.C. 371.
    (b) An international application as used in this chapter means an 
international application for patent filed under the Patent Cooperation 
Treaty prior to entering national processing at the Designated Office 
stage.
    (c) A published application as used in this chapter means an 
application for patent which has been published under 35 U.S.C. 122(b).
    (d)-(f) [Reserved]
    (g) For definitions in Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences 
proceedings, see part 41 of this title.
    (h) A Federal holiday within the District of Columbia as used in 
this chapter means any day, except Saturdays and Sundays, when the 
Patent and Trademark Office is officially closed for business for the 
entire day.
    (i) National security classified as used in this chapter means 
specifically

[[Page 19]]

authorized under criteria established by an Act of Congress or Executive 
Order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign 
policy and, in fact, properly classified pursuant to such Act of 
Congress or Executive Order.
    (j) Director as used in this chapter, except for part 10 of this 
section, means the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property 
and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
    (k) Paper as used in this chapter means a document that may exist in 
electronic form, or in physical form, and therefore does not necessarily 
imply physical sheets of paper.

(Pub. L. 94-131, 89 Stat. 685; 35 U.S.C. 6, Pub. L. 97-247; 15 U.S.C. 
1113, 1123)

[43 FR 20461, May 11, 1978, as amended at 47 FR 40139, Sept. 10, 1982; 
47 FR 43275, Sept. 30, 1982; 49 FR 48451, Dec. 12, 1984; 60 FR 20220, 
Apr. 25, 1995; 61 FR 56447, Nov. 1, 1996; 62 FR 53181, Oct. 10, 1997; 65 
FR 54657, Sept. 8, 2000; 65 FR 57051, Sept. 20, 2000; 68 FR 14336, Mar. 
25, 2003; 68 FR 38624, June 30, 2003; 69 FR 49997, Aug. 12, 2004]