There are several different application types in all including; provisional, nonprovisional (regular), divisional, continuation-in-part, continuing, continued prosecution applications, substitute, statutory invention registration, and reissue applications.

Under specific conditions, an applicant may want to claim the earlier filing date of a previously filed application. It is possible to claim the priority of an earlier U.S. application or even applications filed in participating foreign countries.

Application status is also covered. The status of the application includes whether the application is pending, rejected or has been abandoned.

This chapter will provide you with a foundation for many of the other sections in the MPEP. Pay special attention to the section covering different application types. This will provide you with a solid understanding of patent applications. The subtle differences between continuing applications, C-I-P’s and CPA’s will most certainly be tested on the exam in numerous questions.

The exam will probably contain a specific question or two directed at correcting the inventorship of an application. Priority claims will also be covered in a couple of questions. The conditions for meeting the right of priority are usually incorporated in the test in at least one question.