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2290 Format of - 2200 Citation of Prior Art and Ex Parte Reexamination of Patents

2290 Format of Ex Parte Reexamination Certificate [R-5]

An ex parte reexamination certificate is issued at the close of each ex parte reexamination proceeding in which reexamination has been ordered under 37 CFR 1.525, except for the following two cases:

(A) The ex parte reexamination proceeding is merged with a reissue application pursuant to 37 CFR 1.565(d). If the ex parte reexamination proceeding is concluded by the grant of a reissue patent, the reissue patent will constitute the reexamination certificate;

(B) The ex parte reexamination proceeding is merged with an inter partes reexamination proceeding pursuant to 37 CFR 1.989(a). If the ex parte reexamination proceeding is to be concluded as part of a merged proceeding containing an inter partes reexamination proceeding, a single reexamination certificate will issue for both proceedings; see MPEP § 2690.

The ex parte reexamination certificate is formatted much the same as the title page of current U.S. patents.

The certificate is titled "Ex Parte Reexamination Certificate." The title is followed by an "ordinal" number in parentheses, such as "(235th)," which indicates that it is the two hundred and thirty fifth ex parte reexamination certificate that has issued. Inter partes reexamination certificates are numbered in a separate and new ordinal sequence, beginning with "(1st)." Ex parte reexamination certificates continue the ordinal numbering sequence that has already been established for ex parte reexamination certificates.

The ex parte reexamination certificate number will always be the patent number of the original patent followed by a two-character "kind code" suffix. The first letter of the "kind code" suffix is "B" for reexamination certificates published prior to January 2, 2001, and "C" for reexamination certificates published on or after January 2, 2001. The second letter of the "kind code" suffix is the number of the reexamination proceeding of that patent, and thus shows how many times that patent has been reexamined.

Note that where the first reexamination certificate was a "B1' certificate and a second reexamination certificate then issues, the second reexamination certificate will be designated "C2" and NOT "C1." Thus, by looking at the number following the "C," one will be able to ascertain the number of reexamination certificates that preceded the certificate being viewed, i.e., how many prior reexamination certificates have been issued for the patent. (If this were not the practice and C1 were used, one would not be able to ascertain from the number on the certificate how many B certificates came before.)

It should also be noted that the next higher number will be given to the reexamination proceeding for which the reexamination certificate is issued, regardless of whether the proceeding is an ex parte reexamination or an inter partes reexamination proceeding.

See MPEP § 901.04(a) for a complete list of the kind codes used by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

The certificate denotes the date the certificate was issued at INID code [45] (see MPEP § 901.04). The title, name of inventor, international and U.S. classification, the abstract, and the list of prior art documents appear at their respective INID code designations, much the same as is presently done in utility patents.

The primary differences, other than as indicated above, are:

(A) the filing date and number of the request is preceded by "Reexamination Request;"

(B) the patent for which the certification is now issued is identified under the heading "Reexamination Certificate for"; and

(C) the prior art documents cited at INID code [56] will be only those which are part of the reexamination file and cited on forms ** PTO/SB/08A or 08B, or PTO/SB/42 (or on a form having a format equivalent to one of these forms) (and the documents have not been crossed out because they were not considered) and PTO-892.

Finally, the certificate will identify the patent claims which were confirmed as patentable, canceled, disclaimed, and those claims not examined. Only the status of the confirmed, canceled, disclaimed, and not examined claims will be indicated in the certificate. The text of the new and amended claims will be printed in the certificate. Any new claims will be printed in the certificate completely in italics, and any amended claims will be printed in the certificate with italics and bracketing indicating the amendments thereto. Any prior court decisions will be identified, as well as the citation of the court decisions.

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