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):
- 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 must be in an abandoned status.
- The abandonment date must be less than one year prior to the filing date of the ePetition.
- After-final rejection amendments may not be filed.
- The ePetition cannot be filed if the status of the application prior to abandonment was one that is after a Notice of Allowance.
- The filer must indicate the current entity status.
- The ePetition must be submitted from an inventor account or USPTO registered practitioner account. Sponsored accounts will not be able to submit the ePetition.
- All of the other requirements for a petition pursuant to 37 CFR 1.137(a) must be met.
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.