ePetition Filing Requirements: Petition for Revival of an Abandoned Patent Application Abandoned Unintentionally (37 CFR 1.137 (a)) (For Cases Abandoned After 1st Action and Prior to Notice of Allowance)

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Below are the general filing requirements for an ePetition requesting to revive an application abandoned unintentionally after a first Office action but prior to a notice of allowance, pursuant to 37 CFR 1.137(a):

  • Only registered users of the Patent Electronic System may file this petition as an ePetition.

  • The user must enter a valid U.S. application number.

  • The application number entered cannot be for a provisional application, a design application, a plant application, re-issue application, or a reexamination proceeding.

  • The application number entered must not be for an issued patent.

  • A Notice of Abandonment must have been mailed by the Office.

  • The abandonment date must be less than 2 years prior to the filing date of the petition.

  • After-final rejection amendments may not be filed.

  • The ePetition cannot be filed if the application is after a Notice of Allowance.

  • If the filer has power of attorney, a valid Registration Number must be entered.

  • The filer must indicate the current entity status.

NOTE: A successful ePetition submission will result in an Electronic Acknowledgement Receipt and Grant Letter being generated. Petitioners should verify that the information on the Electronic Acknowledgement Receipt and Grant Letter is complete and accurate as proof that the ePetition submission was successful.

Additional information on petitions to revive based on unintentional delay under 37 CFR 1.137 is available on the  Common types of petitions handled by the Office of Petitions web page.