Online Privacy: Laws and regulations relating to online privacy such as COPPA and GDPR. For more information, see our Online Privacy page
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OG: Official Gazette, a publication issued by a patent office containing official notices, announcements, and information related to patents, trademarks, and other intellectual property matters.
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Office Action: An official communication issued by a patent examiner or trademark examiner during the examination of a patent application or trademark application, identifying issues, objections, or rejections that must be addressed to obtain a patent or trademark registration.
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OEIP: Office of Electronic Information Products.
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OED: Office of Enrollment and Discipline, a division within the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) responsible for registering and disciplining patent attorneys and agents practicing before the USPTO.
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Obviousness: The requirement that to qualify for patent protection an invention must not only be new but also sufficiently inventive, i.e., non-obvious to someone with ordinary skill in the area of technology related to the invention. See 35 U.S.C. Section 103.
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Novelty: A requirement for patentability that the invention must be new.
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Notice of References Cited: An official notification issued by a patent examiner indicating the prior art references cited during the examination of a patent application.
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Notice of Publication: An official notification issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) indicating that a patent application has been or will be published after a certain period making the application available to the public or that a trademark will be published in the Official Gazette.
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Notice of Allowance (Patents): An official notification issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) indicating that a patent application has been allowed for issuance as a patent, subject to payment of required fees.
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Notice of Allowance (Trademarks): An official notice from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) that a trademark application has been accepted and will register upon payment of the required fees.
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Notice of Allowability: An official notification issued by a patent examiner indicating that a patent application is allowable and ready for issuance as a patent, subject to payment of required fees and completion of any outstanding formalities.
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Notice of Abandonment: An official notification issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) indicating that a patent application or trademark application has been abandoned or deemed abandoned due to the applicant’s failure to respond to an office action or meet other requirements within the prescribed time period.
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Nonprovisional Patent Application: A patent application filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) that includes a complete disclosure of the invention. A nonprovisional patent application may be filed directly as a stand-a-lone application or it may claim priority through another patent application such as a previously filed provisional patent application.
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Non-Patent Literature (NPL): Documents other than patents or patent applications that can be used as prior art in a patent matter.
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Non-Final Office Action: An office action issued by a patent examiner during the examination of a patent application, typically identifying objections or rejections that must be resolved before an application may be allowed.
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Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA): An agreement that restricts the use and disclosure of confidential information and trade secrets. For more information, see our Non-Disclosure Agreements page.
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Non-Compete Litigation: Litigation involving an employer and ex-employee generally over a claim the ex-employee took confidential information to compete after the employment ended. For more information, see our Non-Compete Litigation page.
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NOA: Notice of Allowance, an official notification issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) indicating that a patent application has been allowed for issuance as a patent, subject to payment of required fees.
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New Matter: Information added to a patent application after its initial filing that was not originally disclosed. This practice is generally not allowable.
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