This section covers a few of the possible proceedings an application may get caught up in during examination or after issuance. The proceedings are covered briefly in this module.

• All is not lost after a Final rejection is sent out. The applicant may opt to appeal the examiner's rejection.
  
  
• Discover the in's and out's of protests. These may be submitted when a member of the public believes the subject matter in a pending application is unpatentable.
  
  
• Third parties may contribute to the quality of issued patents by submitting preissuance submissions during the examination of the application.
  
  
• What if a member of the public believes the subject matter in an already issued patent is unpatentable? File a reexamination, of course. Learn the details of a reexamination.
  
  
• Patent owners may request a supplemental examination to ask the USPTO to consider information and related issues concerning the patentability of the application.
  
  
• The first to file may not always be the one awarded priority in certain instances. Learn about interferences; the exception to the longstanding rule.
  
  
• Derivation proceedings help ensure that the first person to file an application is the true inventor.
  
  
• Learn about the new trial proceedings which include Inter Partes Review Proceedings, Post-Grant Review Proceedings, and Transitional Program for Covered Business Method Patents.