Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requests at the USPTO

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requests at the USPTO

While many patent attorneys spend their career filing patent applications and office action responses with the USPTO, few take advantage of the fact that the USPTO is an administrative agency and thus bound by the Administrative Procedure Act and the Freedom of Information Act.  This post analyzes some of the FOIA denials I have received and lays out example arguments that can be used to appeal the USPTO’s denial.