Patent terms

https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/glossary

A

AAU amendment to allege use

ABA # American Bankers Association number - often referred to as the "transit routing number", is the nine (9) digit electronic address of a financial institution. The ABA number is encoded in the MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Recognition) line of all checks, and is assigned to each financial institution and each branch office of that financial institution.

abandonment (patents) A patent application becomes abandoned for failure to file a complete and proper reply as the condition of the application may require within the time period provided under 37 CFR § 1.134 and § 1.136 unless an Office action indicates otherwise. Abandonment may be either of the invention or of an application. An abandoned application, in accordance with 37 CFR §§ 1.135 and 1.138, is one which is removed from the Office docket of pending applications. -- see MPEP 711 for more -- see express abandonment

abandonment (trademarks) A trademark application that has been declared abandoned is "dead" and no longer pending. Abandonment occurs under several circumstances. The most common reason is when the USPTO does not receive a response to an Office Action letter from an applicant within 6 months from the date the Office action letter was mailed. Another instance is when the USPTO does not receive a Statement of Use (or request for an extension of time to file a statement of use) from an applicant within 6 months from the issuance of a Notice of Allowance). Applications abandoned for failure to respond to an Office Action or a Notice of Allowance can be revived or reinstated in certain circumstances. For more information, see Petition to Revive and Request for Reinstatement.

ABC activity based cost accounting - an accrual-based accounting method for determining unit-based costs of delivering services by allocating the costs to budgetary resources; it measures the performance and costs related to a specific activity or function.

ABM activity based management - a management methodology that combines ABC with business process analysis techniques to run, improve and measure performance for a business or organization.

ABSS

Automated Biotechnology Sequence Search See PSIPS to access sequence searching online

abstract of the disclosure A concise statement of the technical disclosure including that which is new in the art to which the invention pertains -- see MPEP 608.01(b) for more

Acceptable Identification of Goods and Services Manual This manual lists numerous examples of identifications of goods and services that are acceptable to the USPTO for inclusion in trademark applications and registrations. The manual is not exhaustive and is meant as a guide to aid applicants and their attorneys in formulating acceptable identifications of goods and/or services. Use Acceptable Identification of Goods and Services Manual online

ACH Automated Clearing House - a nationwide batch-oriented electronic funds transfer system governed by the NACHA (National Automated Clearing House Association)

Administrative Instructions set out the provisions and requirements in relation to the filing and processing of the international (patent) application under the PCT and are established by the Director General of WIPO

ADS Application Data Sheet

agent (patent) (may be referred to as a practitioner or representative) - one who is not an attorney but is authorized to act for or in place of the applicant(s) before the Office, that is, an individual who is registered to practice before the Office. -- See 37 CFR § 10.6 and the searchable online Patent Attorney Agent Roster

AIA America Invents Act -- see MORE