Top of Notices Top of Notices   (134)  December 28, 2010 US PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE Print This Notice 1361 CNOG  636 

Reexamination Referenced Items (121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134)
(134)	       	     Treatment of Non-Conforming Requests
		     to Revoke or Invalidate U.S. Patents

   The Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has received an extremely
large number of contemporaneously filed form letters requesting that
certain U.S. patents be revoked or invalidated. These form letters, while
identifying U.S. patents which are believed to be invalid, do not include
any prior art patents and/or printed publications to support such belief.

   The bases for challenging patentability within the PTO are:

   (1) Submission of a protest under 37 CFR 1.291;
   (2) Submission of prior art under 35 U.S.C. 301; and
   (3) Submission of a third party reexamination request under
       35 U.S.C. 302.

   These form letters do not comport with any one of the bases for
challenging patentability within the PTO. To respond individually to
these form letters (by pointing out deficiencies and forwarding them to
the patentee) would be unduly burdensome to the PTO. Therefore, these
form letters will not be responded to individually and will not be
placed in the patent files.

August 17, 1998            				   STEPHEN G. KUNIN
					      Deputy Assistant Commissioner
					     For Patent Policy and Projects

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