2673 Examiner Consideration of Submissions After ACP and Further Action [R-07.2015]
I. WHEN THE CASE IS TAKEN UP FOR ACTIONThe patent owner is given 30 days or one month, whichever is longer, to make the 37 CFR 1.951(a) submission after Action Closing Prosecution (ACP). If no patent owner submission under 37 CFR 1.951(a) is received after two months from the ACP, the examiner will take up the case for action. The case should be acted on promptly, in accordance with the statutory requirement for “special dispatch within the Office” (35 U.S.C. 314(c)). Where a patent owner obtained an extension of time under 37 CFR 1.956, the examiner will wait until the extended time plus one month expires before taking up the case for action.
If the patent owner submission under 37 CFR 1.951(a) is received, the third party requester will then have 30 days from service of the patent owner’s submission to file the third party requester’s 37 CFR 1.951(b) submission. If no third party requester submission under 37 CFR 1.951(b) is received after two months from the date of service of the patent owner’s 37 CFR 1.951(a) submission, the examiner will take up the case for action.
Where both the 37 CFR 1.951(a) and (b) submissions have been received, the case should be taken up for action as soon as possible.
II. OPTIONS AS TO WHICH ACTION TO ISSUE- (A) Right of Appeal Notice - Where no 37 CFR 1.951(a) submission has been filed by the patent owner, or where a submission under 37 CFR 1.951(a) (and 37 CFR 1.951(b)) has been filed and the examiner will not modify his/her position; the examiner should issue a Right of Appeal Notice (RAN). See MPEP § 2673.02. If the patent owner’s submission included a proposed amendment, the RAN will indicate whether or not it was entered.
Where a submission has been filed under 37 CFR 1.951(a) (or 37 CFR 1.951(b)) and that submission is incomplete or is defective, the examiner should notify the parties, in the RAN, that the submission has not been considered, and that no additional opportunity is available to correct the defect(s) in the submission, because 37 CFR 1.951(a) and (b) provide that comments may only be filed “once.”
- (B) Office action reopening of prosecution - See MPEP § 2673.01 for a discussion of when the examiner should issue an action reopening prosecution.
It should be kept in mind that a patent owner cannot, as a matter of right, amend claims rejected in the ACP, add new claims after an ACP, nor reinstate previously canceled claims. A showing under 37 CFR 1.116(b) is required and will be evaluated by the examiner for all proposed amendments after the ACP, except where an amendment merely cancels claims, adopts examiner’s suggestions, removes issues for appeal, or in some other way requires only a cursory review by the examiner.
Where the entry of the proposed amendment (after the ACP) would result in any ground of rejection being withdrawn or any additional claim indicated as patentable, the proposed amendment generally raises new issues requiring more than cursory review by the examiner. The examiner would need to indicate new grounds for patentability for any claim newly found patentable and/or the reason why the rejection was withdrawn and would also need to deal with any third party requester’s comments on the proposed amendment (made pursuant to 37 CFR 1.951(b) in response to owner’s proposed amendment). Thus, the examiner is not required to enter the proposed amendment.
In view of the fact that the patent owner cannot continue the proceeding by refiling under 37 CFR 1.53(b) or 1.53(d) nor by filing a Request for Continued Examination under 37 CFR 1.114, the examiner should consider the feasibility of entering a proposed amendment paper, where the entirety of the amendment would result only in an additional claim (or claims) being indicated as patentable. The examiner is encouraged to enter such an amendment unless the entry would cause an “undue burden” on the examiner. Where the examiner does not enter the amendment, the examiner should explain the “undue burden.” Where the examiner does enter the amendment, see MPEP § 2673.01 as to whether a Right of Appeal Notice (RAN) can be issued or whether there is a need to reopen prosecution.
Where multiple amendments are submitted after the ACP, all amendments except for the first one will be returned without consideration, since they are improper submissions. Thus, if prosecution is reopened, only the first amendment will be present for entry.
An amendment filed at any time after the ACP and prior to the RAN may be entered (where appropriate for entry). An amendment filed after the RAN will not be entered at all, in the absence of a grantable petition under 37 CFR 1.183 because 37 CFR 1.953(c) prohibits an amendment after the RAN in inter partes reexamination. If the examiner wishes to have the patent owner provide an amendment after the RAN, the examiner can reopen prosecution, enter the amendment, and issue a new ACP.
Where a proposed amendment is not entered, the examiner will provide a detailed explanation of the reasons for not entering the proposed amendment. For example, if the claims as amended would present a new issue requiring further consideration or search, the new issue should be identified, and an explanation provided as to why a new search is necessary and/or why more than nominal consideration is necessary.
Affidavits submitted after an ACP are subject to the same treatment as amendments submitted after an ACP. This is analogous to the treatment of affidavits submitted after a final rejection in an application. See In re Affidavit Filed After Final Rejection, 152 USPQ 292, 1966 C.D. 53 (Comm’r Pat. 1966).
The parties to the reexamination will be notified in the RAN, or the Office action issued in lieu of the RAN (e.g., action reopening prosecution), as to whether the proposed amendment will be entered or will not be entered.
2673.01 Reopening Prosecution After ACP [R-08.2012]
I. MANDATORY REOPENINGWhere a submission after Action Closing Prosecution (ACP) has been filed pursuant 37 CFR 1.951(a) (and 37 CFR 1.951(b)) and the examiner decides to modify his/her position, the examiner should ordinarily reopen prosecution, in accordance with the following guidelines.
The patent owner must be given an opportunity to adequately address any change in position adverse to the patent owner’s position. A Right of Appeal Notice (RAN) cannot be issued until the patent owner has had the opportunity to address each and every rejection prior to the appeal stage. Thus, the examiner should reopen prosecution where any new ground of rejection is made or any additional claim is rejected.
Prosecution is ordinarily reopened in this situation by issuing a non-ACP action, i.e., an Office action prior to the ACP stage. If prosecution were reopened at the ACP stage, the patent owner loses rights as to amending the claims in response to the change in the examiner’s position, because the patent owner’s amendment rights are limited after ACP, see MPEP § 2673.
As opposed to the examiner making a new ground of rejection, if a new finding of patentability is made (i.e., a ground of rejection is withdrawn or an additional claim is indicated as patentable), prosecution need not be reopened. The third party requester has no right to comment on and address a finding of patentability made during the reexamination proceeding until the appeal stage, unless the patent owner responds (after which the third party requester may file comments). Thus, the third party requester may address any new finding of patentability at the appeal stage in the same manner that it would address a finding of patentability made during the reexamination proceeding where the patent owner does not respond (e.g., all claims are allowed on the first Office action and the patent owner sees no reason to respond).
II. DISCRETIONARY REOPENINGIn addition to the above situation which requires reopening of prosecution, the examiner should be liberal in reopening prosecution where the equities of the situation make such appropriate, because patent owner cannot continue the proceeding by refiling under 37 CFR 1.53(b) or 1.53(d), nor by filing a Request for Continued Examination under 37 CFR 1.114.
An example of this would be as follows. Patent owner might submit an amendment after the ACP which would make at least one claim patentable, except for one or two minor changes needed to obviate a rejection. The examiner cannot telephone the owner to obtain the minor change(s) and then issue a RAN because interviews are not permitted in an inter partes reexamination proceeding. Also, the examiner cannot make the changes by issuing an examiner’s amendment coupled with a Notice of Intent to Issue Inter Partes Reexamination Certificate (NIRC) because of the presence of the third party requester, i.e., the third party requester is entitled to a RAN so that the claims found patentable can be appealed. Yet, in this situation, it would be inequitable to send the claims to appeal based on the minor points that could be easily corrected. Accordingly, the examiner would reopen prosecution (since 37 CFR 1.953 requires reopening where a RAN is not issued) and issue a new ACP suggesting the amendment which will make the claims patentable. The third party requester would then have an opportunity to comment on the newly-found-patentable claims after the patent owner submits the suggested amendment pursuant to 37 CFR 1.951(a).
See MPEP § 2673 for a discussion of the examiner not exercising his/her discretion to reopen prosecution in those situations where an “undue burden” on the Office would result if prosecution were reopened.
2673.02 Examiner Issues Right of Appeal Notice (RAN) [R-11.2013]
37 CFR 1.953 Examiner’s Right of Appeal Notice in inter partes reexamination.
- (a) Upon considering the comments of the patent owner and the third party requester subsequent to the Office action closing prosecution in an inter partes reexamination, or upon expiration of the time for submitting such comments, the examiner shall issue a Right of Appeal Notice, unless the examiner reopens prosecution and issues another Office action on the merits.
- (b) Expedited Right of Appeal Notice: At any time after the patent owner’s response to the initial Office action on the merits in an inter partes reexamination, the patent owner and all third party requesters may stipulate that the issues are appropriate for a final action, which would include a final rejection and/or a final determination favorable to patentability, and may request the issuance of a Right of Appeal Notice. The request must have the concurrence of the patent owner and all third party requesters present in the proceeding and must identify all of the appealable issues and the positions of the patent owner and all third party requesters on those issues. If the examiner determines that no other issues are present or should be raised, a Right of Appeal Notice limited to the identified issues shall be issued.
- (c) The Right of Appeal Notice shall be a final action, which comprises a final rejection setting forth each ground of rejection and/or final decision favorable to patentability including each determination not to make a proposed rejection, an identification of the status of each claim, and the reasons for decisions favorable to patentability and/or the grounds of rejection for each claim. No amendment can be made in response to the Right of Appeal Notice. The Right of Appeal Notice shall set a one-month time period for either party to appeal. If no notice of appeal is filed, prosecution in the inter partes reexamination proceeding will be terminated, and the Director will proceed to issue and publish a certificate under § 1.997 in accordance with the Right of Appeal Notice.
A Right of Appeal Notice (RAN) is a final Office action which presents a final decision to reject the claims (i.e., a final decision that the claims are rejected) and/or a final decision favorable to patentability as to the claims (i.e., a final decision not to make a proposed rejection).
The RAN will identify the status of each claim. It will set forth:
- (A) the grounds of rejection for all claims rejected in the RAN;
- (B) the reasons why a proposed rejection is not made for all decisions favorable to patentability as to claims that were contested by the third party requester; and
- (C) the reasons for patentability for all claims “allowed” and not contested by the third party requester.
The RAN will also advise parties of their rights of appeal at this stage in the reexamination proceeding, and the consequences of failure to appeal.
See MPEP § 2673 as to matters that should be taken into account by the examiner before deciding to issue a RAN. Before the examiner actually issues a RAN, all outstanding grounds of rejection of record and findings of patentability that are of record should be carefully reviewed, after consideration of all submissions of record by the parties. Where it is appropriate to retain the grounds of rejection and findings of patentability, and the examiner’s position will not be changed, the examiner is permitted to issue a RAN. Any grounds of rejection and findings of patentability relied upon should be restated in the RAN. The reasons for each rejection and finding should be set forth in detail. The grounds of rejection and findings of patentability should, at this point, be clearly developed to such an extent that the patent owner and the third party requester may readily judge the advisability of filing an appeal. The examiner’s position as to any arguments and comments raised by the patent owner and the third party requester should be clearly set forth, so that any appeal taken can address the examiner’s position as to the arguments and comments.
In the RAN, it should also be point out which submissions after the Action Closing Prosecution (ACP) have been entered and considered, and which have not. At this point, the examiner should check the record to ensure that parties have been made aware of which amendments, evidence (affidavits, declarations, exhibits, etc.), references and argument are before the examiner for consideration. The case should be ready for appeal after the RAN issues.
In the event that an amendment submitted by the patent owner after the ACP has not been entered because the amendment does not comply with the requirements of 37 CFR 1.116 (see 37 CFR 1.951(a)), the patent owner may file a petition under 37 CFR 1.181 requesting entry of the amendment. The petition under 37 CFR 1.181 must be filed within the time period for filing a notice of appeal or cross appeal, if appropriate (see 37 CFR 1.953(c)). Note that the filing of a petition under 37 CFR 1.181 does not toll the time period for filing a notice of appeal or cross appeal, if appropriate. Thus, in addition to the petition under 37 CFR 1.181, the patent owner is encouraged to file (1) a petition under 37 CFR 1.183 requesting waiver of the prohibition of an extension of time for filing an appeal brief (37 CFR 41.66(a)), and (2) a request for an extension of the period to file the appeal brief until after a decision on the petition under 37 CFR 1.181. The third party requester may once file comments responsive to the patent owner’s petition under 37 CFR 1.181 within 30 days from the date of service of the patent owner’s petition under 37 CFR 1.181 on the third party requester. When rendering a decision on the petition under 37 CFR 1.181, the deciding official should be mindful that a patent owner in an inter partes reexamination proceeding may not be able to proceed effectively if the amendment submitted after the ACP is not entered since the patent owner in an inter partes reexamination proceeding does not have the right to continue the proceeding by refiling under 37 CFR 1.53(b) or 1.53(d) nor by filing a Request for Continued Examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the patent owner cannot file an inter partes reexamination.
Form PTOL-2066 should be used as the cover sheet for the RAN. The RAN should conclude with form paragraph 26.08 advising the parties of their right to appeal and correspondence and inquiry form paragraph 26.73:
¶ 26.08 Right of Appeal Notice
This is a RIGHT OF APPEAL NOTICE (RAN); see MPEP § 2673.02 and § 2674. The decision in this Office action as to the patentability or unpatentability of any original patent claim, any proposed amended claim and any new claim in this proceeding is a FINAL DECISION.
No amendment can be made in response to the Right of Appeal Notice in an inter partes reexamination. 37 CFR 1.953(c). Further, no affidavit or other evidence can be submitted in an inter partes reexamination proceeding after the right of appeal notice, except as provided in 37 CFR 1.981 or as permitted by 37 CFR 41.77(b)(1). 37 CFR 1.116(f).
Each party has a thirty-day or one-month time period, whichever is longer, to file a notice of appeal. The patent owner may appeal to the Board with respect to any decision adverse to the patentability of any original or proposed amended or new claim of the patent by filing a notice of appeal and paying the fee set forth in 37 CFR 41.20(b)(1). The third party requester may appeal to the Board with respect to any decision favorable to the patentability of any original or proposed amended or new claim of the patent by filing a notice of appeal and paying the fee set forth in 37 CFR 41.20(b)(1).
In addition, a patent owner who has not filed a notice of appeal may file a notice of cross appeal within fourteen daysof service of a third party requester’s timely filed notice of appeal and pay the fee set forth in 37 CFR 41.20(b)(1). A third party requester who has not filed a notice of appeal may file a notice of cross appeal within fourteen days of service of a patent owner’s timely filed notice of appeal and pay the fee set forth in 37 CFR 41.20(b)(1).
Any appeal in this proceeding must identify the claim(s) appealed, and must be signed by the patent owner (for a patent owner appeal) or the third party requester (for a third party requester appeal), or their duly authorized attorney or agent.
Any party that does not file a timely notice of appeal or a timely notice of cross appeal will lose the right to appeal from any decision adverse to that party, but will not lose the right to file a respondent brief and fee where it is appropriate for that party to do so. If no party files a timely appeal, the reexamination prosecution will be terminated, and the Director will proceed to issue and publish a certificate under 37 CFR 1.997 in accordance with this Office action.
¶ 26.73 Correspondence and Inquiry as to Office Actions
All correspondence relating to this inter partes reexamination proceeding should be directed:
By EFS: Registered users may submit via the electronic filing system EFS-Web, at https://efs.uspto.gov/efile/ myportal/efs-registered.
By Mail to: Mail Stop Inter Partes Reexam
Attn: Central Reexamination Unit
Commissioner for Patents
United States Patent & Trademark Office
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, VA 22313-1450
By FAX to: (571) 273-9900
Central Reexamination Unit
By hand: Customer Service Window
Randolph Building
401 Dulany Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
For EFS-Web transmissions, 37 CFR 1.8(a)(1)(i)(C) and (ii) states that correspondence (except for a request for reexamination and a corrected or replacement request for reexamination) will be considered timely filed if (a) it is transmitted via the Office's electronic filing system in accordance with 37 CFR 1.6(a)(4), and (b) includes a certificate of transmission for each piece of correspondence stating the date of transmission, which is prior to the expiration of the set period of time in the Office action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner, or as to the status of this proceeding, should be directed to the Central Reexamination Unit at telephone number (571) 272-7705.
Examiner Note:
- 1. This form paragraph is used at the end of inter partes reexamination communications.
- 2. The examiner having charge of the proceeding is not to be contacted by the parties to the proceeding.
An amendment filed after the RAN will not be entered at all, in the absence of a grantable petition under 37 CFR 1.183, because 37 CFR 1.953(c) prohibits an amendment after the RAN in an inter partes reexamination. If the examiner wishes to have the patent owner provide an amendment after the RAN, the examiner can reopen prosecution, accept the amendment (for entry), and issue a new Action Closing Prosecution (ACP). See MPEP § 2673.01 for discussion as to discretionary reopening of prosecution.
Note that 37 CFR 1.116(d)(1) states that no amendment other than canceling claims, where such cancellation does not affect the scope of any other pending claims in the proceeding, can be made in an inter partes reexamination proceeding after the RAN except as provided in 37 CFR 1.981 or as permitted by 37 CFR 41.77(b)(1). Furthermore, no affidavit or other evidence can be submitted in an inter partes reexamination proceeding after the RAN except as provided in 37 CFR 1.981 or as permitted by 37 CFR 41.77(b)(1). See 37 CFR 1.116(f).
I. EXAMINER NEVER ISSUES A NIRC AFTER ACPOnce an ACP has been issued, there is no requirement for the patent owner to respond; where the patent owner does not respond to the rejection of the patent claims, a RAN will still be issued and the patent owner can appeal at that point to the Board. Because there is no requirement for the patent owner to respond, there is no situation in which a Notice of Intent to Issue Inter Partes Reexamination Certificate (NIRC) can be issued after an ACP and prior to the RAN. Even if (after an ACP has been issued) the examiner finds the patent owner’s subsequent argument to be persuasive as to all of the claims, a NIRC would still not be issued, but rather, a RAN would be issued to provide the third party requester with an opportunity to appeal the “allowed” claims to the Board.
II. EXPEDITED RIGHT OF APPEAL NOTICE37 CFR 1.953(b) provides for an expedited RAN. At any time after the patent owner’s response to the first Office action on the merits in an inter partes reexamination, the patent owner and the third party requester (all third party requesters, if there is more than one due to a merged proceeding) may request the immediate issuance of a RAN.
The request for an expedited RAN must:
- (A) stipulate that the issues are appropriate for a final action, which would include a final rejection and/or a final determination favorable to patentability;
- (B) state that the patent owner and the third party requester (all third party requesters, if there is more than one) join in making the request;
- (C) identify all of the appealable issues; and
- (D) identify and discuss the positions of the patent owner and the third party requester(s) on the identified issues.
If the examiner determines that no other issues are present or should be raised in the proceeding, a RAN limited to the identified issues will be issued.
If the examiner determines that other issues are in fact present, or that other issues need to be raised in the proceeding, the examiner should deny the request, and examination and prosecution will continue as if the request had not been submitted.
In no event will the request for an expedited RAN be construed to extend the time for any response/comments due at the time the request is made.
III. PANEL REVIEW CONFERENCEAfter an examiner has determined that the reexamination proceeding is ready for the RAN action, the examiner will formulate a draft preliminary RAN action. The examiner will then inform his/her Central Reexamination Unit (CRU) Supervisory Patent Reexamination Specialist (SPRS) or Technology Center (TC) Quality Assurance Specialist (QAS) of his/her intent to issue the action. The CRU SPRS/TC QAS will convene a panel review conference, and the conference members will review the patentability of the claim(s) pursuant to MPEP § 2671.03. If the conference confirms the examiner’s preliminary decision to reject and/or allow the claims, the proposed RAN action shall be issued and signed by the examiner, with the two or more other conferees initialing the action (as "conferee" ) to indicate their presence in the conference. If the conference does not confirm the examiner’s treatment of the claims, the examiner will reevaluate and issue an appropriate Office action.
