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Status Status involves whether an application is pending, abandoned or issued, as well as whether or not it has been published.

Statutory Invention Registration (SIR) If a Statutory Invention Registration (SIR) is filed for an invention, it is enters the public domain and can be practiced by anyone. It is published in the Official Gazette and can be utilized by an examiner as a prior art reference. Since the invention is now public, no one can be granted a patent for that invention. There are no patent rights accorded to an SIR.

Statutory subject matter Generally, anything under the sun made by man is patentable subject matter by statute. Thus, natural phenomena are not patentable subject matter and nor are mathematical algorithms.

Substitute application A substitute application a duplicate of an application by the same applicant abandoned before the filing of the later application.

Substitute specification This may be required when the patent application is not written plainly and legibly either by a typewriter or machine printer. No new matter can be added and may be filed at any point up to payment of the issue fee if accompanied by a statement that the substitute specification includes no new matter.

Summary of Interview When an applicant has an interview with a patent examiner to discuss the claims of a patent, the applicant is required to file a brief summary of what was discussed in the interview.

Summary of invention
A portion of the specification of a patent application. This is a brief description of how the invention is made or used.