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2672 Patent Owner Comments/Amendment After ACP and Third Party Requester Responsive Comments [R-7] - 2600 Optional Inter Partes Reexamination
2672 Patent Owner Comments/Amendment After ACP and Third Party Requester Responsive Comments [R-7]
37 CFR 1.951 Options after Office action closing prosecution in inter partes reexamination.
(a) After an Office action closing prosecution in an inter partes reexamination, the patent owner may once file comments limited to the issues raised in the Office action closing prosecution. The comments can include a proposed amendment to the claims, which amendment will be subject to the criteria of § 1.116 as to whether or not it shall be admitted. The comments must be filed within the time set for response in the Office action closing prosecution.
(b) When the patent owner does file comments, a third party requester may once file comments responsive to the patent owner's comments within 30 days from the date of service of patent owner's comments on the third party requester.
I. ONE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE SUBMISSIONS UNDER 37 CFR 1.951(a) AND (b)
After an Action Closing Prosecution (ACP), the patent owner may once file (pursuant to 37 CFR 1.951(a)) written comments limited to the issues raised in the reexamination proceeding and/or present a proposed amendment to the claims. Where the patent owner does so, the third party requester may once file (pursuant to 37 CFR 1.951(b)) comments responsive to the patent owner's comments. Any second or supplemental submission after ACP by either the patent owner or the third party requester will thus be returned.
II. TIME FOR MAKING PATENT OWNER SUBMISSION UNDER 37 CFR 1.951(a)
The patent owner submission under 37 CFR 1.951(a) of comments and/or proposed amendment must be filed within the time period set for response to the ACP. Normally, the ACP will set a period of 30 days or one month (whichever is longer) from the mailing date of the ACP.
An extension of the time period for filing the patent owner's submission under 37 CFR 1.951(a) may be requested under 37 CFR 1.956. The time period may not, however, be extended to run past 6 months from the date of the ACP.
The examiner and all other parties to the reexamination should recognize that a reexamination proceeding may result in the final cancellation of claims from the patent and that the patent owner does not have the right to continue the proceeding by refiling under 37 CFR 1.53(b) or 1.53(d), nor by filing a Request for Continued Examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the patent owner cannot file an inter partes reexamination request (see MPEP § 2612). Accordingly, the examiner and other parties should identify and develop all issues prior to the ACP, including the presentation of evidence under 37 CFR 1.131 and 1.132.
III. PATENT OWNER MAKES SUBMISSION AFTER ACP; LIMITATION ON PATENT OWNER'S SUBMISSION
Once an ACP that is not premature has been entered in a reexamination proceeding, the patent owner no longer has a right to unrestricted further prosecution. Consideration of the proposed amendments submitted after ACP (pursuant to 37 CFR 1.951(a)) will be governed by the strict standards of 37 CFR 1.116. The patent owner's submission of comments under 37 CFR 1.951(a) must be limited to the issues raised in the ACP. If the submission addresses issues not already raised in the ACP, then the comments will be returned >as improper; if the comments have been scanned into the Image File Wrapper (IFW) for the reexamination proceeding prior to the discovery of the impropriety, they should be expunged from the record, with notification being sent to the party that submitted the comments<. No additional opportunity will be given for the patent owner to correct the defect unless a petition under 37 CFR 1.183 is granted to waive 37 CFR 1.951 as to its one opportunity limitation for the patent owner comment. If such a petition under 37 CFR 1.183 is granted and the patent owner submits corrected comments under 37 CFR 1.951(a), the third party requester may then once file supplemental comments responding to the patent owner's corrected comments within one month from the date of service of the patent owner's corrected comments on the third party requester. >Any replacement patent owner comments under 37 CFR 1.951(a) that are submitted in the rare instance where a petition is granted must be strictly limited to (i.e., must not go beyond) the content of the original comments submission.<
IV. PATENT OWNER MAKES SUBMISSION AFTER ACP; THIRD PARTY REQUESTER COMMENTS ARE LIMITED **
Where the patent owner files comments and/or a proposed amendment pursuant to 37 CFR 1.951(a), the third party requester may once file comments (pursuant to 37 CFR 1.951(b)) responding to the patent owner's comments>,< and/or proposed amendment>, and/or the issues raised in the ACP. See 35 U.S.C. 314(b)(2)<. Such third party requester comments must be filed within 30 days from the date of service of the patent owner's comments>,< and/or proposed amendment>, and/or the issues raised in the ACP< on the third party requester. If the third party requester's comments go beyond the scope of responding to the patent owner's comments>,< and/or proposed amendments>, and/or the issues raised in the ACP<, then the third party requester's comments will be returned >as improper; if the comments have been scanned into the Image File Wrapper (IFW) for the reexamination proceeding prior to the discovery of the impropriety, they should be expunged from the record, with notification being sent to the party that submitted the comments<. No additional opportunity will be given for the third party requester to correct the defect unless a petition under 37 CFR 1.183 is granted to waive 37 CFR 1.951 as to its one opportunity limitation. >Any replacement third party requester comments under 37 CFR 1.951 (that are submitted in the rare instance where a petition is granted must be strictly limited to (i.e., must not go beyond) the content of the original comments submission.<
V. PATENT OWNER DOES NOT MAKE SUBMISSION AFTER ACP
If the patent owner does not timely file comments and/or a proposed amendment pursuant to 37 CFR 1.951(a), then the third party requester is precluded from filing comments under 37 CFR 1.951(b). Accordingly, a Right of Appeal Notice (RAN) will be issued where the time for filing the patent owner comments and/or amendment has expired and no patent owner paper containing comments and/or amendment has been received. It should be noted that where the patent owner chooses not to file a submission pursuant to 37 CFR 1.951(a), no rights of appeal are lost.
VI. ACTION CLOSING PROSECUTION - PREMATURE
If the patent owner is of the opinion that the Office action closing prosecution in the inter partes reexamination proceeding is premature, the patent owner may, in addition to the comments submitted under 37 CFR 1.951(a), file a petition under 37 CFR 1.181 within the time period for filing the comments under 37 CFR 1.951(a). The third party requester may then once file, as a paper separate from any submission under 37 CFR 1.951(b), comments responsive to the patent owner's petition under 37 CFR 1.181 within 30 days from the date of service of the patent owner's petition under 37 CFR 1.181 on the third party requester.
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