Full Disclosure - November 2016

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Kind Codes
by Arpita Bhattacharyya, Ph.D.

In this edition, we have compiled the Kind Codes that categorize patent documents in the IP5 offices. Because patent documents in many intellectual property offices retain the same identifying number throughout the patenting process, the documents are given a letter, known as a Kind Code, immediately after the identifying number to indicate where the document is in the patenting process. The Kind Code helps to distinguish the kind of patent document (e.g., issued patent, patent application publication, plant patent, design patent, utility model), the level of publication (e.g., first publication, republication, corrected publication), and whether a patent has undergone post-issuance review (e.g., reexamination, opposition). A common thread among the Kind Codes of most of the IP5 offices is that the letter “A” generally represents a published patent application and the letter “B” generally represents a granted patent, with small variations among the different offices.

United States

Summary of USPTO Kind Codes Used on Documents Published Beginning January 2, 2001
Kind Code	Kind of Document
A1	Patent application publication
A2	Patent application republication
A9	Corrected patent application publication
B1	Patent (no pre-grant publication)
B2	Patent (having pre-grant publication)
C1, C2, C3	Reexamination certificate
E	Reissue patent
H	Statutory Invention Registration (SIR)
P1	Plant patent application publication
P2	Plant patent (no pre-grant publication)
P3	Plant patent (having pre-grant publication)
P4	Plant patent application republication
P9	Corrected plant patent application publication
S	Design patent

Because of the new post-grant proceedings introduced in the USPTO following the America Invents Act (AIA) of 2011, new Kind Codes were added to designate patents that have undergone a post-grant proceeding.

Summary of USPTO Kind Codes Added After AIA
Kind Code	Kind of Document
F1, F2, F3	Supplemental Examination Certificate
J1, J2, J3	Post Grant Review Certificate
K1, K2, K3	Inter Partes Review Certificate
O1, O2, O3	Derivation Certificate

Europe
The EPO follows the standard of document Kind Codes set by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO):

Summary of EPO Kind Codes Used on Documents Published 18 Months After Filing With The EPO or 18 Months After The Priority Date
Kind Code	Kind of Document
A1	European patent application published with European search report
A2	European patent application published without European search report (search report not available at publication date)
A3	Separate publication of European search report
A4	Supplementary search report
A8	Corrected title page of A document, i.e., A1 or A2 document
A9	Complete reprint of A document, i.e., A1, A2, or A3 document.

Summary of EPO Kind Codes Used on European Patent Specifications
Kind Code	Kind of Document
B1	European patent specification (granted patent)
B2	New European patent specification (amended specification after opposition procedure)
B3	European patent specification (after limitation procedure)
B8	Corrected title page of B document (i.e., B1 or B2 document)
B9	Complete reprint of B document (i.e., B1 or B2 document)

Japan
The JPO used to have a more complicated Kind Code system, but it has been simplified to a large extent to follow the WIPO standards, as shown in the table below.

Summary of Kind Codes of Industrial Property Documents Stored at JPO
Kind Code	Kind of Document
A	Unexamined patent publication (including those based on international applications)
B1	Examined patent publication (A-coded document has not been published)
B2	Examined patent publication (A-coded document has been published)
U	Unexamined utility model publication (including those based on international applications)
Y1	Examined utility model publication (U-coded document has not been published)
Y2	Examined utility model publication (U-coded document has been published)
A1	Domestic re-publication of PCT international application
H	Corrected patent specification
I	Corrected registered utility model specification
S	Registered design publication

China
SIPO simplified its Kind Codes in April 2010 to generally follow the WIPO standard. The current SIPO Kind Codes are listed below:

Summary of Kind Codes of Kind Codes Currently Used by SIPO
Kind Code	Kind of Document
A	Publication of patent application
B	Granted patent publication
U	Registered utility model publication
S	Registered design publication

Korea
The KIPO Kind Codes are an amalgam of the JPO and SIPO Kind Codes, as shown in the table below.

Summary of Kind Codes Currently Used by KIPO
Kind Code	Kind of Document
A	Unexamined patent publication
B1	Examined patent publication (A-coded document has not been published)
B2	Examined patent publication (A-coded document has been published)
U	Unexamined utility model publication
Y1	Examined utility model publication (U-coded document has not been published)
Y2	Examined utility model publication (U-coded document has been published)
S	Examined design publication

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