Establishment of Box REISSUE
                             Elimination of Box 7
   
   The processing of reissue applications in the Patent and Trademark
Office (PTO) has been modified with the establishment of a special box
designated Box REISSUE and the elimination of Box 7.
   
   (a) Effective immediately, the PTO has established a special box
designated Box REISSUE for new and continuing reissue application
filings under 37 CFR 1.53(b). All new and continuing reissue application
filings addressed to this box will be forwarded immediately to the
Office of Initial Patent Examination for expedited processing. This box
should not be used for any other reissue application correspondence.
   To maximize the advantages of the expedited processing, the envelope
should be addressed:
   
   Box REISSUE
   Assistant Commissioner for Patents
   Washington, D.C. 20231
   
   Box REISSUE should only be used for the initial filing of all new and
continuing reissue applications. Box REISSUE should not be used for any
subsequently filed correspondence in reissue applications.
   
   Placing unrelated or extraneous documents in an envelope marked for any
special box will significantly delay their reaching the area for which
they were intended.
   
   (b) In addition, Box 7, designated for receiving correspondence in
reissue applications for patents involved in litigation, is being
ELIMINATED herewith. Correspondence addressed to Box 7 is rarely
received in the PTO. Current PTO Mail Center procedures provide prompt
delivery service, thus eliminating the need for continued use of Box 7.
Any further correspondence addressed to Box 7 will be treated as
ordinary mail and not given any special status by the PTO Mail Center.
   
September 28, 1998                                         STEPHEN G. KUNIN
                                          Deputy Assistant Commissioner for
                                                 Patent Policy and Projects