1452 Request for Continued Examination of Reissue Application [R-08.2017]
A request for continued examination (RCE) under 37 CFR 1.114 is available for a reissue application for reissue of a utility or plant patent filed on or after June 8, 1995. This applies even where the application, which resulted in the original patent, was filed before June 8, 1995.
An RCE continues the prosecution of the existing reissue application and is not a filing of a new reissue application. Thus, the filing of an RCE will not be announced in the Official Gazette. Additionally, if a reissue application is merged with a reexamination proceeding (see MPEP § 1449.01), the filing of an RCE will not dissolve the merger, because the reissue application does not become abandoned. The Office, however, may choose to dissolve the merger based on the individual facts and circumstances of the case, e.g., to promote the statutorily mandated requirement for special dispatch in reexamination. Applicants should refer to the merger decision for guidance because it governs for that application.
