Does number of cited references affect the examination fee?

[registereduser]

What I know is more references means higher defendable. My questions are:

1. Does number of cited references affect the examination fee? Will I need to pay more fee for more references?
2. Is there any guide on how the references should be related to the invention to avoid the abuse of citation?

Thanks

 

[divgradcurl]

What I know is more references means higher defendable.

Not always. A lot of dubious references cited is less valuable than a few key references cited and traversed.

1. Does number of cited references affect the examination fee? Will I need to pay more fee for more references?

Not exactly. You need to pay a fee for every IDS you submit, but you can include multiple references on each IDS. If you can get everything in on one IDS, that's the only fee you will have to pay.

2. Is there any guide on how the references should be related to the invention to avoid the abuse of citation?

The legal standard is that you need to disclose all "material" references that you know about. "Material" means that they are relevant to the patentability of your invention, AND are not cumulative to other references already cited.

 

[tranquility]

1. Does number of cited references affect the examination fee? Will I need to pay more fee for more references?

While I don't do this work, my best friend does. With a lot of references, it seems like a lot more reading. Time alone may increase the cost. No attorney would have relevant references in his memory. Each would have to be looked at to determine if another reference was relevant.

More time=more money.

 

[divgradcurl]

While I don't do this work, my best friend does. With a lot of references, it seems like a lot more reading. Time alone may increase the cost. No attorney would have relevant references in his memory. Each would have to be looked at to determine if another reference was relevant.

More time=more money.

The OP's questions have nothing to do with attorney's fees or attorney's time.

 

[tranquility]

I guess I'll go back to what I know rather than what my friends know. Carry on.

 

[registereduser]

Thank you all.

I guess I have got what I need. I checked IDS and find there is a limit of 50 citations. The cumulative references now start to bother me. Do not know how to deal with them. There are so many.

 

[divgradcurl]

Thank you all.

I guess I have got what I need. I checked IDS and find there is a limit of 50 citations. The cumulative references now start to bother me. Do not know how to deal with them. There are so many.

I am not sure what you are worried about. If the extra citations are truely cumulative to citations you have already cited, then there really isn't any reason to worry about things. If you really want to "wash" the art through the patent office, and avoid any possible question of inpropriety, then file multiple IDS's, they aren't that expensive.