Most legal proceedings are "inter partes," meaning between parties. For example, a landlord-tenant dispute regarding who should be responsible for making certain repairs to the property after it has been damaged involves a first party -- the landlord, who owns the property, and a second party -- the tenant, who holds a lease there. A judge or tribunal hears both sides of the argument, weighs the evidence, and resolves all of the relevant issues in the case.
"Ex parte" proceedings, by stark contrast, are proceedings carried on by a single party with no adversary present. You will often see these in emergency situations, such as when one party wants to get a temporary restraining order (TRO) taken out on some person due to an imminent threat this person previously made to this party. In these cases, going through normal legal channels and procedures would be impracticable because by the time the person who made the threat was haled into court and named as a party to an action, the the harm would have already occurred. By that time, any legal remedy would have been too late to prevent the harm from occurring in the first place.
Patent prosecution (i.e., the preparation, filing, and negotiation of a patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office) is also an ex parte proceeding. There is no adversarial party that aims to stop the patent applicant from securing the rights he seeks in a patent. Although there is no adversarial party, in a certain sense, it is the job of the patent examiner (who acts as a judge in these proceedings) to represent the interests of the public and to ensure that a patent is not issued unless it satisfied all of the legal requirements.
Because patent prosecution is ex parte, the individuals involved are held to a higher standard of candor and fair dealing than is typical of court proceedings. For example, if the applicant is aware of information "material to patentability" (i.e., information that calls into question whether the patent should issue), the applicant is required to disclose that information to the patent examiner. If the applicant and his agents fail in the duty of candor, the patent may later be held unenforceable by a court.
"Ex parte" proceedings, by stark contrast, are proceedings carried on by a single party with no adversary present. You will often see these in emergency situations, such as when one party wants to get a temporary restraining order (TRO) taken out on some person due to an imminent threat this person previously made to this party. In these cases, going through normal legal channels and procedures would be impracticable because by the time the person who made the threat was haled into court and named as a party to an action, the the harm would have already occurred. By that time, any legal remedy would have been too late to prevent the harm from occurring in the first place.
Patent prosecution (i.e., the preparation, filing, and negotiation of a patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office) is also an ex parte proceeding. There is no adversarial party that aims to stop the patent applicant from securing the rights he seeks in a patent. Although there is no adversarial party, in a certain sense, it is the job of the patent examiner (who acts as a judge in these proceedings) to represent the interests of the public and to ensure that a patent is not issued unless it satisfied all of the legal requirements.
Because patent prosecution is ex parte, the individuals involved are held to a higher standard of candor and fair dealing than is typical of court proceedings. For example, if the applicant is aware of information "material to patentability" (i.e., information that calls into question whether the patent should issue), the applicant is required to disclose that information to the patent examiner. If the applicant and his agents fail in the duty of candor, the patent may later be held unenforceable by a court.
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