What is one permissible action you can take if you have evidence that claims in a pending application are invalid due to public prior use?

Filing a request for a protest is an appropriate action to take if you have evidence that claims in a pending application are invalid due to public prior use. A protest is a mechanism that allows a third party to bring information to the USPTO’s attention regarding the patentability of claims in a pending application before the application is allowed. This process focuses on providing prior art, which can demonstrate that the claims do not satisfy the requirements of novelty or non-obviousness due to prior public use.

In cases where you have valid evidence showing that the invention has been publicly used before the filing date, a protest enables you to formally present this information, allowing the USPTO to consider it in their evaluation of the application. This can effectively impact the examination process and may potentially lead to rejection of the claims based on the provided prior use evidence.

Other actions, such as filing a preissuance submission, can also be relevant but have different procedural implications and may not be specifically suited for the situation of public prior use. Submitting a complaint to the applicant does not hold any weight in the patent examination process and would not affect the outcome. Withdrawing your representation does not contribute to resolving the issue of validity in the pending application; it simply removes you from