Where/how can I find the reason for a rejected patent?

Question

When searching information regarding a specific patent, I am often interested in information on its status, e.g. has it entered national phase in some countries, was it granted or rejected, etc.

I usually search for this information using patentscope.wipo.int and its "National phase" tab which links to regional or national agencies. On these websites it is usually easy to find the current status of the patent (entered, granted, dead, etc.).

However, when the patent is rejected, I can never find more information about this rejection (e.g. the claims are already covered by another patent, or is is deemed non-receivable) which is often what interests me most.

Where and how can I find this kind of information for at least United States or European patent applications, if not those from other patent offices as well?

Answer 1

I don't know about other countries, but in the United States if a patent application has been published, you can find all the documents filed in that case by looking on Public PAIR by patent application number. That is true even if a patent is never granted. You can see, among other things, the reasons for the rejection that were given by the patent examiner.

Unfortunately, if a patent application that was never published is rejected, the documents remain private and the public cannot access them.