MPEP Section 2215, Fee for Requesting Ex Parte Reexamination
Executive summary:
This document contains Section 2215 ("Fee for Requesting Ex Parte Reexamination") of the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (the "M.P.E.P."), Eighth Edition, Eighth Revision (July 2010). This page was last updated in January 2011. You may return to the section index to find a particular section. Alternatively, you may search the MPEP using the search box that appears on the left side of every page of BitLaw--you may restrict your search to the MPEP on the search results page.
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2215 Fee for Requesting Ex Parte Reexamination [R-7]
37 CFR 1.510 Request for ex parte reexamination.
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(c) If the request does not include the fee for requesting ex parte reexamination required by paragraph (a) of this section and meet all the requirements by paragraph (b) of this section, then the person identified as requesting reexamination will be so notified and will generally be given an opportunity to complete the request within a specified time. Failure to comply with the notice will result in the ex parte reexamination request not being granted a filing date, and will result in placement of the request in the patent file as a citation if it complies with the requirements of § 1.501.
(d) The filing date of the request for ex parte reexamination is the date on which the request satisfies all the requirements of this section.
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In order for a request to be accepted, be given a filing date, and be published in the Official Gazette, the request papers must satisfy all the requirements of 37 CFR 1.510(a) and (b)**>. The< entire fee required under 37 CFR 1.20(c)(1) for filing a request for reexamination must be paid. If the request was filed by the patent owner and includes a proposed amendment in accordance with 37 CFR 1.530, excess claims fees under 37 CFR 1.20(c)(3) and (c)(4) may also apply; see MPEP § 2250.03.
If the request for ex parte reexamination is subsequently denied (see MPEP § 2247 and § 2248), or vacated (see MPEP § 2227 and § 2246, subsection I), a refund in accordance with 37 CFR 1.26(c) will be made to the identified requester. If the request for ex parte reexamination is found to be incomplete and the defect is not cured (see MPEP § 2227), a refund in accordance with 37 CFR 1.26(a) will be made to the identified requester.
If the entire fee for ex parte reexamination is not paid or all the requirements of 37 CFR 1.510(a) and (b) are not satisfied, the request will be considered to be incomplete. See 37 CFR 1.510 (c) and (d) and MPEP § 2227.
Where the entire filing fee is not paid after the requester has been given an opportunity to do so, no determination on the request will be made. The request papers will ordinarily be placed in the patent file as a prior art citation, if they comply with the requirements for a citation of prior art under 37 CFR 1.501. See MPEP § 2206 for handling of prior art citations.