Editing Interference proceeding (section)

== Definition ==
An interference proceeding is an [[administrative proceeding]] conducted by a panel of [[administrative patent judges]] ([[administrative law judges]] sitting on the [[Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences]]) of the [[United States Patent and Trademark Office]] (USPTO) to determine which applicant is not entitled to the patent if both claimed the same [[invention]] in:
# two or more [[patent pending|pending patent applications]], or
# at least one pending patent application and at least one patent issued within a year of the pending application's filing date.

A panel, composed of judges on the [[Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences]], a [[quasi-judicial body]] in the USPTO, hears an interference contest. Its final judgment adjudicating one party as an earlier inventor is called a priority award, or simply an award. [[Appeal]]s from this tribunal are heard before either the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit]] or the [[United States District Court for the District of Columbia]]. See {{UnitedStatesCode|35|144}}, {{UnitedStatesCode|35|146}}.