USPTOObservations & Oppositions builder

Third-party preissuance submission

35 U.S.C. 122(e); 37 CFR 1.290

A factual, document-by-document submission that puts printed prior art in front of the examiner of a pending US application while the claims can still change.

Start an invalidity search How IPtorch builds it
USPTO Published application Claim 1 1a 1b 1c D1 cited document col. 4, ll. 12-19 Preissuance submission 37 CFR 1.290, relevance per item
Read, quote, tie to the claim, file the paper.

At a glance

Later of 6 months or first rejection

USD 195 per 10 items, USD 78 small entity (checked 22 Sep 2026)

Who can file
Any third party. Not the applicant, and not anyone with a duty of disclosure in the application (37 CFR 1.56).
Deadline
Before the earlier of the notice of allowance, or the later of 6 months from first publication and the first rejection. Not extendable.
Official fee
USD 195 per 10 items or part, USD 78 small entity. Free for a first submission of 3 or fewer items (1.290(g)).
Language
English. A non-English item needs an English translation of the listed portion; an uncertified machine translation is enough.
Anonymous
Partly. The real party in interest may stay unnamed; the signer is named (37 CFR 1.4).
How it is filed
Patent Center's dedicated third-party preissuance interface, or paper (PTO/SB/429) to P.O. Box 1450. No fax, no ordinary upload.
Effect
Considered like an IDS, generally before the next Office action. Considered items are printed on the patent as third-party citations.
Party status
None. The submission creates no proceeding and no further participation.

What it is

Third-party preissuance submission, in brief

A preissuance submission puts patents, published applications and other printed publications in front of the examiner of a pending US application. Each document carries a concise description of its relevance, as 35 U.S.C. 122(e) and 37 CFR 1.290 require: what it discloses, pinpointed, against which claim language.

It carries facts, not argument. One sentence of anticipation, obviousness or unpatentability makes the whole submission non-compliant, and it is discarded unentered. Compliant items are considered like an IDS and printed on the patent. The submitter gets no further role.

Use it when

  • The target is a pending original non-provisional US application and no notice of allowance has been mailed.
  • Your evidence is patents, published applications or other printed publications, and a factual description of each is enough.
  • The application is already published: this is the only third-party route into a published original application.

Choose another route when

How IPtorch builds it

From search to filing, minus the signature.

The invalidity search runs on into this filing when it ends, with no second click. Three model families take turns, so a draft is never checked by the model that wrote it.

  1. 1SearchClaims split into limitations, thousands of candidates screened, at least 50 references read in full.Gemini models read and check
  2. 2Claim mapA verbatim quotation and its location behind every limitation.Every cell checkable
  3. 3DraftWrites the papers in the office's format and language.Claude Opus 5.5 (Anthropic)
  4. 4ReviewChecks each citation against its document and builds the forms.Sol 6 (OpenAI)
  5. 5AdjudicateHigh strength: a third family rules on every objection.Gemini 3.1 Pro (Google)
  6. 6FolderUnsigned PDFs, ready for a professional to review, sign and file.Nothing is filed

What the builder does for this filing

  • IPtorch starts from an invalidity search with at least 50 references read in full and keeps only patents, published applications and other printed publications.
  • For each document it writes the concise description of relevance that 35 U.S.C. 122(e) and 37 CFR 1.290 require, tying pinpointed passages to specific claim language and stating any missing element as a fact.
  • It reads every description as the USPTO screener would and removes any sentence of anticipation, obviousness, proposed rejection or bare relevance, because one such sentence gets the whole submission discarded.
  • It computes the window from the full 1.290(b) formula, checks there is time left for a corrected resubmission, and counts items for the fee.

In the folder

  • Document list (PTO/SB/429 layout)Every item, labelled Document 1, Document 2 and so on
  • Concise description of relevanceOne per document, factual, pin-cited to specific claim language
  • Claim chartOptional: passages against claim elements, quotations and pin-cites only
  • Copies of every cited documentWith cover sheets; US patents and publications need no copy
  • Labelled machine translationsEnglish translation of the listed portion, beside the original
  • Evidence of publicationFor any item that is not a publication on its face
  • Fee and filing sheetInternal: item count, fee or 1.290(g) exemption, filing steps

Builder strength

You choose how hard it is checked.

You pay for the tokens the sessions use, at the models' list prices plus a 30% fee, not for the time allowed. How pricing works

Low

40 minutesabout 10 million tokens (roughly $10 to $30)

  1. Opus 5.5 drafts the submission
  2. Sol 6 builds and checks the final forms

Medium

2 hoursabout 20 million tokens (roughly $20 to $60)

  1. Opus 5.5 drafts the submission
  2. Sol 6 reviews and rebuilds the content
  3. Opus 5.5 builds the filing folder
  4. Sol 6 checks the form

High

5 to 6 hoursabout 60 million tokens (roughly $50 to $200)

  1. Opus 5.5 drafts the submission
  2. Sol 6 runs a deep prior-art search
  3. Opus 5.5 rebuilds the submission against the evidence
  4. Sol 6 attacks it as an adversarial examiner
  5. Gemini 3.1 Pro adjudicates the objections
  6. Opus 5.5 applies the fixes and builds the filing folder
  7. Scripted checks of the filing folder
  8. Sol 6 audits the whole folder
  9. Convergence gate

If the gate fails, one repair round: opus 5.5 repairs what the gate found, sol 6 audits the repair, convergence gate, again.

What stays with you

You review, sign and file.

  • Sign with your own S-signature and typed name, adding your registration number if you are a practitioner.
  • Confirm the 1.290(d)(5) statement, and the 1.290(g) statement if used, after reasonable inquiry.
  • Log in to Patent Center with an identity-verified account, open the third-party interface and press Submit.
  • Pay the document fee in Financial Manager, unless the 1.290(g) exemption applies.

Where these go wrong

What the builder guards against.

  • One concluding sentence of anticipation or obviousness, as in the MPEP examples, makes the whole submission non-compliant. It is never entered.
  • Filing on the controlling date is already late, and reading the wrong limb of the 6-month or first-rejection rule is a common miscount.

More filings in United States

USPTO, PTAB and federal courts

All 17 filings

Start with the evidence.

Upload the patent or enter its number. The invalidity search charts every claim, and the builder takes it from there.

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Facts checked against the office's rules on 22 September 2026. IPtorch is not a law firm and this page is not legal advice. The builder's output is unsigned work product for a registered professional to review, sign and file; nothing is filed and no fee is paid for you. Confirm current requirements, fees and deadlines with the receiving office.