MPEP § 1214.06
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The practice under the situations identified in subsections I-III below is similar to the practice after a decision of the court outlined in MPEP § 1216.01. Examiners must be very careful that applications and ex parte reexamination proceedings that leave the jurisdiction of the Board are not overlooked because every case is up for action by the examiner in the event no court review has been sought. See MPEP §§ 1216.01 and 1216.02 for procedure where court review is sought.
As provided by 37 CFR 90.3, the time for seeking review of a decision of the Board by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit or the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia is the same for both tribunals, that is, 63 days plus any additional time requested and granted under 37 CFR 90.3(c). In the event a request for rehearing is timely filed before the Board, or as extended by the Director. See MPEP § 1216. When the time for seeking court review has passed without such review being sought, the examiner must take up the application or ex parte reexamination for consideration. The situations which can arise will involve one or more of the following circumstances:
The proceedings in an application or ex parte reexamination proceeding are terminated as of the date of the expiration of the time for filing court action. The application is no longer considered as pending. In an application, a Notice of Abandonment should be prepared and mailed. In an ex parte reexamination proceeding, a reexamination certificate should be issued under 37 CFR 1.570.
Claims indicated as allowable prior to appeal except for their dependency from rejected claims will be treated as if they were rejected. The following examples illustrate the appropriate approach to be taken by the examiner in various situations:
The following form paragraph may be used where appropriate:
The Patent Trial Appeal Board affirmed the rejection(s) against independent claim(s) [1], but reversed all rejections against claim(s) [2] dependent thereon. There are no allowed claims in the application. The independent claim(s) is/are cancelled by the examiner in accordance with MPEP § 1214.06. Applicant is given a TWO MONTH TIME PERIOD from the mailing date of this letter in which to present the dependent claim(s) in independent form to avoid ABANDONMENT of the application. EXTENSIONS OF TIME UNDER 37 CFR 1.136(a) ARE AVAILABLE. Prosecution is otherwise closed.
1. For use if the notice of appeal was filed on or after January 23, 2012.
2. In bracket 1, enter the independent claim number(s) for which the Board affirmed the rejection(s).
3. In bracket 2, enter the dependent claim number(s) for which the Board reversed the rejection(s).
The appellant is not required to file a reply. The examiner issues the application or ex parte reexamination certificate on the claims which stand allowed. It is not necessary for the applicant or patent owner to cancel the rejected claims, since they may be canceled by the examiner in an examiner’s amendment.
If the Board affirms a rejection of claim 1, claim 2 was objected to prior to appeal as being allowable except for its dependency from claim 1 and independent claim 3 is allowed, the examiner should cancel claims 1 and 2 and issue the application or ex parte reexamination certificate with claim 3 only.
If the Board affirms a rejection against independent claim 1, reverses all rejections against dependent claim 2 and claim 3 is allowed, after expiration of the period for further appeal, the examiner should either:
The following form paragraphs may be used where appropriate:
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board affirmed the rejection(s) against independent claim(s) [1], but reversed all rejections against claim(s) [2] dependent thereon. The independent claim(s) is/are cancelled by the examiner in accordance with MPEP § 1214.06. Applicant is given a ONE MONTH TIME PERIOD from the mailing date of this letter in which to present the dependent claim(s) in independent form. NO EXTENSIONS OF TIME UNDER 37 CFR 1.136 WILL BE GRANTED. Failure to comply will result in cancellation of the dependent claims and the application will be allowed with claim(s) [3]. Prosecution is otherwise closed.
1 For use if the notice of appeal was filed on or after January 23, 2012.
2. In bracket 1, enter the independent claim number(s) for which the Board affirmed the rejection(s).
3. In bracket 2, enter the dependent claim number(s) for which the Board reversed the rejection(s).
4. In bracket 3, enter the claim number(s) of the allowed claims.
If uncorrected matters of form which cannot be handled without written correspondence remain in the application, the examiner should take appropriate action but prosecution is otherwise closed. A letter such as that set forth in form paragraph 12.297 is suggested:
The period under 37 CFR 90.3 for seeking court review of the decision by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board rendered [1] has expired and no further action has been taken by appellant. The proceedings as to the rejected claims are considered terminated; see 37 CFR 1.197(b).
The application will be passed to issue on allowed claim [2] provided the following formal matters are promptly corrected: [3]. Prosecution is otherwise closed.
Applicant is required to make the necessary corrections addressing the outstanding formal matters within a shortened statutory period set to expire TWO MONTHS from the mailing date of this letter to avoid ABANDONMENT of the application. Extensions of time may be granted under 37 CFR 1.136.
1. For use if the notice of appeal was filed on or after January 23, 2012.
2. In bracket 1, enter the mailing date of the decision (or notification date of the decision if electronic mail notification was sent to the appellant under the e-Office Action program).
3. In bracket 2, identify the allowed claims.
4. In bracket 3, identify the formal matters that need correction.
If the decision of the Board is an affirmance in part and includes a reversal of a rejection that brings certain claims up for action on the merits, such as a decision reversing the rejection of generic claims in an application or ex parte reexamination proceeding containing claims to nonelected species not previously acted upon, the examiner will take up the application or reexamination proceeding for appropriate action on the matters thus brought up. However, the application or reexamination proceeding is not considered open to further prosecution except as to such matters.
Where the Board makes a new rejection under 37 CFR 41.50(b) and no action is taken with reference thereto by appellant within 2 months, the examiner should proceed in the manner indicated in paragraphs I-III of this section as appropriate. See MPEP § 1214.01.
If the Board affirms the examiner’s rejection, but also enters a new ground of rejection under 37 CFR 41.50(b), the subsequent procedure depends upon the action taken by the appellant with respect to the 37 CFR 41.50(b) rejection.
Prosecution before the examiner of the 37 CFR 41.50(b) rejection can incidentally result in overcoming the affirmed rejection even though the affirmed rejection is not open to further prosecution. Therefore, it is possible for the application to be allowed as a result of the limited prosecution before the examiner of the 37 CFR 41.50(b) rejection. If an application becomes allowed, it should not be returned to the Board. Likewise, if an application is abandoned for any reason, it should not be returned to the Board. If the rejection under 37 CFR 41.50(b) is not overcome, the applicant (or patent owner in an ex parte reexamination proceeding) can file a second appeal (as discussed below). Such appeal must be limited to the 37 CFR 41.50(b) rejection and may not include the affirmed rejection. If an application does not become allowed or abandoned as discussed above, once prosecution of the claims which were rejected under 37 CFR 41.50(b) is terminated before the examiner, the application file must be returned to the Board so that a decision making the original affirmance final can be entered. Similarly, the file of any ex parte reexamination proceeding including rejections affirmed by the Board but made nonfinal for purposes of judicial review must be returned to the Board so that the affirmance can be made final by the Board. The time for filing a request for rehearing on the affirmance or seeking court review runs from the date of the decision by the Board making the original affirmance final. See MPEP §§ 1214.03 and 1216.