About This Site
Why 3PPS.info exists and who built it.
The Problem This Site Solves
The Third-Party Preissuance Submission (3PPS) is one of the most underused tools in US patent law. Under 35 U.S.C. § 122(e), any member of the public can place prior art directly in front of a USPTO examiner — before a patent issues. It's often free. It's anonymous. And most people who could use it have never heard of it.
The official USPTO documentation is dense and written for practitioners. Law firm explainers exist but are usually incomplete or gated behind a contact form. This site is the plain-English guide that should have existed already.
Who Built It
3PPS.info was built by Kieran O'Leary, a U.S. patent attorney registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office and admitted to the bar in the District of Columbia and Pennsylvania.
That background is why this site can be precise about the things practitioners know but rarely write down for free — the brittle window, the "no arguments" trap, and when filing can backfire. It is also why every page carries the disclaimer below: this site teaches the mechanism; it does not advise on your case.
To get in touch or see other work, visit kieranjoleary.com.
How This Site Is Maintained
Pages carry a "last reviewed" date. Fee amounts are checked against the current USPTO fee schedule ↗, and pendency figures against the USPTO Patents Data Dashboard ↗. Corrections and material changes are logged on the Updates page. If you spot an error, please reach out — this resource is only useful if it is right.
A Note on Legal Advice
This site is an educational resource and is not affiliated with the USPTO. Nothing here constitutes legal advice, reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship, and no content on this site is a solicitation for legal services. Patent law is fact-specific — consult a registered patent practitioner about your situation before making decisions about prior art submission or withholding.