Office action

noun

A formal report from the United States Patent Office examiner detailing which claims in a patent application were allowed for later issue (publication) in a patent and which claims were rejected, and why.

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Meanings

nounOffice action (plural Office actions)

plural Office actions

  1. intellectual propertyA formal report from the United States Patent Office examiner detailing which claims in a patent application were allowed for later issue (publication) in a patent and which claims were rejected, and why.
Cite this entry
APA

Office action. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Office%20action

MLA

“Office action.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Office%20action. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Office action,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Office%20action.

Source: Office action on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.