In view of the [1] filed on [2], PROSECUTION IS HEREBY REOPENED. [3] set forth below.
To avoid abandonment of the application, appellant must exercise one of the following two options:
(1) file a reply under 37 CFR 1.111 (if this Office action is non-final) or a reply under 37 CFR 1.113 (if this Office action is final); or,
(2) initiate a new appeal by filing a notice of appeal under 37 CFR 41.31 followed by an appeal brief under 37 CFR 41.37. The previously paid notice of appeal fee and appeal brief fee can be applied to the new appeal. If, however, the appeal fees set forth in 37 CFR 41.20 have been increased since they were previously paid, then appellant must pay the difference between the increased fees and the amount previously paid.
A Supervisory Patent Examiner (SPE) has approved of reopening prosecution by signing below:
[4]
1. For use if the notice of appeal was filed on or after January 23, 2012.
2. In bracket 1, insert --appeal brief-- or --amended appeal brief--.
3. In bracket 2, insert the date on which the brief was filed.
4. In bracket 3, insert --A new ground of rejection is-- or --New grounds of rejection are--.
5. In bracket 4, insert the SPE’s signature. Approval of the SPE is required to reopen prosecution after an appeal. See MPEP §§ 1002.02(d) and 1207.04.
6. Use this form paragraph to reopen prosecution in order to make a new ground of rejection of claims. The Office action following a reopening of prosecution may be made final if all new grounds of rejection were either (A) necessitated by amendment or (B) based on information presented in an information disclosure statement under 37 CFR 1.97(c) where no statement under 37 CFR 1.97(e) was filed. See MPEP § 706.07(a).
After reopening of prosecution, appellant must exercise one of the following options to avoid abandonment of the application:
If appellant elects to continue prosecution and prosecution was reopened prior to a decision on the merits by the Board, the fee paid for the notice of appeal, appeal brief (if applicable), forwarding an appeal to the Board (if applicable) and request for oral hearing (if applicable) will be applied to a later appeal on the same application. If, however, the appeal fees set forth in 37 CFR 41.20 have increased since they were previously paid, applicant must pay the difference between the increased fees and the amount previously paid. If appellant elects to initiate a new appeal by filing a notice of appeal, appellant must file a complete new brief in compliance with 37 CFR 41.37 within two months from the filing of the new notice of appeal. See MPEP § 1204.01 for more information on reinstatement of an appeal.
After receipt of a reply brief in compliance with 37 CFR 41.41, jurisdiction over the appeal passes to the Board. Normally, the examiner does not need to acknowledge the reply brief and will not have an opportunity for further comment prior to a decision by the Board. However, the Board may remand the appeal to the examiner to furnish a substitute examiner’s answer responsive to the remand.
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The examiner may only furnish a substitute examiner’s answer in response to a remand.
In response to a substitute examiner’s answer that is written in response to a remand by the Board for further consideration of a rejection, appellant must either file: (1) a reply under 37 CFR 1.111 to request that prosecution be reopened; or (2) a reply brief to request that the appeal be maintained, within two months from the mailing of the substitute examiner’s answer, to avoid sua sponte dismissal of the appeal as to the claims subject to the rejection for which the Board has remanded the proceeding. Examiner may include a new ground of rejection in the substitute examiner’s answer responding to a remand by the Board for further consideration of a rejection. See MPEP § 1207.03.
The examiner may provide a substitute examiner’s answer in response to a remand by the Board for further consideration of a rejection under 37 CFR 41.50(a). Appellant must respond to such substitute examiner’s answer and has the option to request that prosecution be reopened. A substitute examiner’s answer written in response to a remand by the Board for further consideration of a rejection pursuant to 37 CFR 41.50(a)(2) may set forth a new ground of rejection. Any new ground of rejection made in such a substitute examiner’s answer must comply with the requirements set forth in MPEP § 1207.03. The examiner may use form paragraph 12.285 in preparing the substitute examiner’s answer responding a remand by the Board for further consideration of a rejection.
Pursuant to the remand under 37 CFR 41.50(a)(1) by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board on [1] for further consideration of a rejection, a substitute Examiner’s Answer under 37 CFR 41.50(a)(2) is set forth below: [2].
The appellant must within TWO MONTHS from the date of the substitute examiner’s answer exercise one of the following two options to avoid sua sponte dismissal of the appeal as to the claims subject to the rejection for which the Board has remanded the proceeding:
(1) Reopen prosecution. Request that prosecution be reopened before the examiner by filing a reply under 37 CFR 1.111 with or without amendment, affidavit, or other evidence. Any amendment, affidavit, or other evidence must be relevant to the issues set forth in the remand or raised in the substitute examiner’s answer. Any request that prosecution be reopened will be treated as a request to withdraw the appeal. See 37 CFR 41.50(a)(2)(i).
(2) Maintain appeal. Request that the appeal be maintained by filing a reply brief as set forth in 37 CFR 41.41. If such a reply brief is accompanied by any amendment, affidavit or other evidence, it shall be treated as a request that prosecution be reopened under 37 CFR 41.50(a)(2)(i). See 37 CFR 41.50(a)(2)(ii) .
Extensions of time under 37 CFR 1.136(a) are not applicable to the TWO MONTH time period set forth above. See 37 CFR 1.136(b) for extensions of time to reply for patent applications and 37 CFR 1.550(c) for extensions of time to reply for ex parte reexamination proceedings.
A Technology Center Director or designee has approved this substitute examiner’s answer by signing below:
[3]
1. For use if the notice of appeal was filed on or after January 23, 2012.
2. In bracket 1, insert the date of the remand.
3. In bracket 2, provide reasons supporting the rejections set forth in the substitute Examiner’s Answer.
4. In bracket 3, insert the TC Director’s or designee’s signature. A TC Director or designee must approve every substitute examiner’s answer.
If a substitute examiner’s answer is written in response to a remand by the Board for further consideration of a rejection pursuant to 37 CFR 41.50(a)(2), the appellant must, within two months of the date of the substitute examiner's answer, exercise one of the following two options to avoid sua sponte dismissal of the appeal as to the claims subject to the rejection for which the Board has remanded the proceeding:
The two month time period for reply is not extendable under 37 CFR 1.136(a), but is extendable under 37 CFR 1.136(b) for patent applications and 37 CFR 1.550(c) for ex parte reexamination proceedings.
If appellant requests that prosecution be reopened, the appellant must file a reply that addresses each ground of rejection set forth in the substitute examiner’s answer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.111 within two months from the mailing of the substitute examiner’s answer. The reply may also include amendments, evidence, and/or arguments directed to claims not subject to the ground of rejection set forth in the substitute examiner's answer or other rejections. If there is after-final amendment (or affidavit or other evidence) that was not entered, appellant may include such amendment in the reply to the substitute examiner’s answer.
If the reply is not fully responsive to the ground of rejection set forth in the substitute examiner’s answer, but the reply is bona fide, the examiner should provide a time period for appellant to complete the reply pursuant to 37 CFR 1.135(c). If the reply is not bona fide (e.g., does not address the ground of rejection) and the two-month time period has expired, the examiner must sua sponte dismiss the appeal as to the claims subject to the rejection for which the Board has remanded the case.
Once appellant files a reply in compliance with 37 CFR 1.111 in response to a substitute examiner’s answer responding to a remand by the Board for further consideration of a rejection under 37 CFR 41.50(a), the examiner must reopen prosecution by entering and considering the reply. Examiner may make the next Office action final unless the examiner introduces a new ground of rejection that is neither necessitated by the applicant’s amendment of the claims nor based on information submitted in an information disclosure statement filed during the period set forth in 37 CFR 1.97(c) with the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(p). See MPEP § 706.07(a).
If appellant requests that the appeal be maintained, the appellant must file a reply brief to address each grounds of rejection set forth in the substitute examiner’s answer in compliance with 37 CFR 41.37(c)(1)(iv) within two months from the mailing of the substitute examiner's answer. The reply brief must also be in compliance with requirements set forth in 37 CFR 41.41 (e.g., it cannot include any new amendment or affidavit). If the reply brief is accompanied by an amendment, affidavit or other evidence, it will be treated as a request that prosecution be reopened before the examiner.
If appellant fails to timely file a reply under 37 CFR 1.111 or a reply brief in response to a substitute examiner’s answer that was written in response to a remand by the Board for further consideration of a rejection under 37 CFR 41.50(a), the appeal will be sua sponte dismissed as to the claims subject to the rejection for which the Board has remanded the proceeding. As jurisdiction passes to the Board at the expiration of time to file a reply brief, the Board will prepare and mail the dismissal. If all of the claims under appeal are subject to the rejection, the entire appeal will be dismissed. The examiner should follow the procedure set forth in MPEP § 1215 after the appeal is dismissed. For example, if there is no allowed claim in the application, the application would be abandoned when the two-month time period has expired.
If only some of the claims under appeal are subject to the rejection, the dismissal of the appeal as to those claims operates as an authorization to cancel those claims and the appeal continues as to the remaining claims. The Board will render a decision in due course.
The Director of the USPTO may remand an appeal to the examiner. See 37 CFR 41.35(c). The Board may remand an application to the examiner for a reason that is not for further consideration of a rejection, such as to consider an information disclosure statement filed before jurisdiction over the appeal transferred to the Board under 37 CFR 41.35(d), a reply brief that raised new issues that were not considered by the examiner, an amendment, or an affidavit. See MPEP § 1211. Consideration of any Information Disclosure Statement or petition filed while the Board possesses jurisdiction over the proceeding will be held in abeyance until the Board’s jurisdiction ends. The examiner may provide a substitute examiner’s answer in response to the remand. Appellant may respond by filing a reply brief within two months from the mailing of the substitute answer. Appellant does not have the option to request that prosecution be reopened pursuant to 37 CFR 41.50(a) unless the remand by the Board is for further consideration of a rejection under 37 CFR 41.50(a).
Under 37 CFR 41.41(a)(1), appellant may file a single reply brief as a matter of right within the later of two months from the date of either the examiner’s answer, or a decision refusing to grant a petition under 37 CFR 1.181 to designate a new ground of rejection in an examiner’s answer. Extensions of time to file the reply brief may be granted pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(b) (for patent applications) or 1.550(c) (for ex parte reexamination proceedings). Extensions of time under 37 CFR 1.136(a) are not permitted. Normally, appellant is not required to file a reply brief to respond to an examiner’s answer, and if appellant does not file a reply brief within the two month period of time, the application will be forwarded to the Board for decision on the appeal. In response to the following, however, appellant is required to file either a reply brief to maintain the appeal or a reply under 37 CFR 1.111 to reopen prosecution:
If appellant requests that the appeal be maintained in response to a new ground of rejection made in an examiner’s answer or a substitute examiner’s answer, the appellant must file a reply brief to address each new ground of rejection set forth in the answer in compliance with 37 CFR 41.37(c)(1)(iv) within two months from the mailing of the answer. The reply brief should include the following items, with each item starting on a separate page, so as to follow the other requirements of a brief as set forth in 37 CFR 41.37(c):
New or non-admitted affidavits, and/or other evidence are not permitted in a reply brief. Any new amendment must be submitted in papers separate from the reply brief, and the entry of such papers is subject to the provisions of 37 CFR 41.33. A paper that contains an amendment is not a reply brief within the meaning of 37 CFR 41.41. Such a paper will not be entitled to entry simply because it is characterized as a reply brief.
If a reply brief is filed in response to a substitute examiner’s answer under 37 CFR 41.50(a) that was written in response to a remand by the Board for further consideration of a rejection, any reply brief accompanied by an amendment, affidavit or other evidence will be treated as a request that prosecution be reopened before the examiner. If appellant fails to file a reply brief or a reply under 37 CFR 1.111 within two months from the mailing of the examiner’s answer that contains a new ground of rejection, or a substitute examiner’s answer under 37 CFR 41.50(a), the appeal may be dismissed. See MPEP § 1207.03 and § 1207.05.
After receipt of a reply brief under 37 CFR 41.41, jurisdiction over the appeal passes to the Board. Normally, the examiner does not need to acknowledge the reply brief and will not have an opportunity for further argument prior to a decision by the Board. However, the Board may remand the appeal to the examiner to furnish a substitute examiner’s answer responsive to the remand.
The examiner's answer should provide notice that the appeal forwarding fee must be paid within the requisite time period or the appeal will stand dismissed. See form paragraphs 12.279 and 12.279.01. It is preferable that appellants pay this fee at the same time any reply brief is filed.
Effective March 19, 2013, the fee for filing an appeal brief in an application or ex parte reexamination was reduced to $0 and a new fee was added for forwarding the appeal to the Board after the mailing of an examiner's answer. Failure to pay this appeal forwarding fee results in the dismissal of the appeal. In the event that appellant fails to timely pay the fee, the appeal is dismissed by rule and the examiner should proceed as indicated in MPEP § 1215 regardless of whether a separate paper is mailed dismissing the appeal. The requirement to pay the appeal forwarding fee is waived when the appeal brief fee was paid before March 19, 2013. As long as the waiver is in effect, applicants having paid the appeal brief fee before March 19, 2013 will not be required to pay the appeal forwarding fee. This waiver only applied in an appeal in which the appeal brief and its corresponding appeal brief fee were filed before March 19, 2013 and where applicant seeks to reinstate an appeal in such application prior to the Board issuing a decision on the appeal filed prior to March 19, 2013.
The appeal forwarding fee is premature if the fee is filed prior to the mailing of the examiner’s answer. In addition, the Office cannot accept a general authorization to pay the appeal forwarding fee because appeal fees are found in 37 CFR 41.20 and not 37 CFR 1.16 to 1.18. See 37 CFR 1.25(b). Applicant should be clear in its authorization that the fee is directed to payment of the appeal forwarding fee. It is suggested that the applicant consider filing form PTO/AIA/34 (Certification and Transmittal of Appeal Forwarding Fee). An applicant who files a reply brief and authorizes the Office to charge any fees related to the submission of this paper will not have authorized the Office to charge the appeal forwarding fee because the submission of the reply brief and submission of the appeal forward fee are not required to be submitted at the same time.
As an example, suppose the applicant filed an appeal brief, including payment of the appeal brief fee, on March 18, 2013 and a final Board decision issued in the appeal on March 16, 2015. Following the Board decision the applicant timely files a request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114 on May 17, 2015. After prosecution of the RCE before the examiner, the applicant files a new notice of appeal and an appeal brief. The applicant would be required to pay the appeal forwarding fee within the period specified in 37 CFR 41.45(a) to continue with the appeal.
The appeal forwarding fee does not apply to inter partes reexamination appeals.
37 CFR 41.47(b) provides that an appellant who desires an oral hearing before the Board must request the hearing by filing, in a separate paper captioned "REQUEST FOR ORAL HEARING," a written request therefor, accompanied by the appropriate fee set forth in 37 CFR 41.20(b)(3), within 2 months after the date of the examiner’s answer or the date of filing of a reply brief, whichever is earlier. This time period ensures that any request for oral hearing is received not later than when jurisdiction over the proceeding passes to the Board (37 CFR 41.35(a) ). Form PTO/SB/32 may be used to request an oral hearing. This time period may only be extended by filing a request under either 37 CFR 1.136(b) or, if the appeal involves an ex parte reexamination proceeding, under 37 CFR 1.550(c).
If the written request for an oral hearing is not filed in a separate paper captioned "REQUEST FOR ORAL HEARING," the request is improper and the appeal will be assigned for consideration and decision on the briefs without an oral hearing. Likewise, if the request is not timely filed or accompanied by the appropriate fee, the request is improper and the appeal will be assigned for consideration and decision on the briefs without an oral hearing.
A notice of hearing, stating the date, the time, and the docket, is forwarded to the appellant in due course. If appellant fails to confirm the hearing within the time required in the notice of hearing or the appellant waives the hearing, the appeal will be removed from the hearing docket and assigned on brief in due course. No refund of the fee for requesting an oral hearing will be made. Similarly, after confirmation, if no appearance is made at the scheduled hearing, the appeal will be decided on brief. Since failure to notify the Board of waiver of hearing in advance of the assigned date results in a waste of the Board’s resources, appellant should inform the Board of a change in plans at the earliest possible opportunity. If the Director or the Board determines that a hearing is not necessary (e.g., a Director-ordered remand to the examiner is necessary or it is clear that the rejection(s) cannot be sustained), appellant will be notified.
If appellant has any special request, such as for a particular date, day of the week, or afternoon vs. morning hearing session, this will be taken into consideration in setting the hearing, if made known to the Board in advance, as long as such request does not unduly delay a decision in the case and does not place an undue administrative burden on the Board.
The appellant may also file a request, in a separate paper addressed to the Clerk of the Board, to present their arguments via telephone or an audio-video connection. The appellant making the request will be required to bear the cost of the telephone call or the audio-video connection. Prior to the hearing date, the Board’s IT specialist may contact the appellant making an audio-video request to confirm software compatibility.
The appellant may file a request, in a separate paper addressed to the Clerk of the Board, to use a projector while presenting their arguments (e.g., for a PowerPoint® presentation). The Office may provide a projector for the appellant’s use subject to availability. The appellant making the request is responsible for providing their own laptop or mobile computer.
If the time set in the notice of hearing conflicts with prior commitments or if subsequent events make appearance impossible, the hearing may be rescheduled on written request, in a separate paper addressed to the Clerk of the Board. However, in view of the administrative burden involved in rescheduling hearings and the potential delay which may result in the issuance of any patent based on the application on appeal, postponements are discouraged and will not be granted in the absence of convincing reasons in support of the requested change.
Normally, 20 minutes are allowed for appellant to explain their position. If appellant believes that additional time will be necessary, the appellant should file a request in a separate paper addressed to the Clerk of the Board well in advance of the hearing. The request for such time will be taken into consideration in assigning the hearing date. The final decision on whether additional time is to be granted rests within the discretion of the senior member of the panel hearing the case.
At the oral hearing, appellant may only rely on evidence that has been previously entered and considered by the primary examiner and present arguments that have been relied upon in the brief or reply brief. Upon a showing of good cause, appellant and/or the primary examiner may rely on a new argument based upon a recent relevant decision of either the Board or a Federal Court.
The Board's current procedure permits members of the public to attend oral hearings in appeals of reexamination proceedings, reissues, and published applications. Members of the public are not permitted to attend appeals of non-published applications. More information is available at www.uspto.gov/patents-application-process/ patent-trial-and-appeal-board/hearings. All parties, including USPTO employees, attending oral hearings should be particularly mindful of the published Hearing Room Protocol/Decorum. Appropriate attire is clothing that would be worn for an important business meeting.
37 CFR 41.47(f) provides that notwithstanding the submission of a request for oral hearing, if the Board decides that a hearing is not necessary, the Board will so notify appellant. Examples as to when it would be appropriate for the Board to decide that an oral hearing is not necessary include those where the Board has become convinced, prior to hearing, that the examiner’s position cannot be sustained or where the Director determines that the proceeding must be remanded to the examiner under 37 CFR 41.35(c).
If the appellant has requested an oral hearing and the primary examiner wishes to appear and present an oral argument before the Board, a request to present oral argument must be set forth in a separate letter on a form PTOL-90 using form paragraph 12.279.03.
The examiner requests the opportunity to present arguments at the oral hearing.
1. For use if the notice of appeal was filed on or after January 23, 2012.
2. Use this form paragraph only if an oral hearing has been requested by appellant and the primary examiner intends to present an oral argument.
3. This form paragraph must be included as a separate letter on a form PTOL-90.
4. After mailing to the applicant, the examiner must email a copy of the PTOL-90 to PTABHearings@uspto.gov.
