MPEP Section 2232.01, Determining if a Reexamination >Request< Was Filed for a Patent

Executive summary:

This document contains Section 2232.01 ("Determining if a Reexamination >Request< Was Filed for a Patent") 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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2232.01 Determining if a Reexamination >Request< Was Filed for a Patent [R-7]

TO DETERMINE FROM PAIR OR PALM IF A REEXAMINATION REQUEST HAS BEEN FILED FOR A GIVEN PATENT NUMBER

Both the Internet and the USPTO Intranet can be accessed to determine if a reexamination request has been filed for a particular patent.

A.    Using the Internet

- Log on to the Internet.

- Go to USPTO Website located at http://www.uspto.gov.

- Click on the "Site Index" link.

- Click on the letter "E" in the index.

- Click on the link to the Electronic Business Center.

- Click on the "? Status & View Documents" link.

- *>Select< "Patent Application Information Retrieval" **>and select< "Patent Number" >as the type of number< and enter the patent number (e.g., 5806063 - no commas are to be inserted) in the "Enter Number" box.

- Click on "*>Search<."

- Click the "Continuity Data" button.

- Scroll to "Child Continuity Data" where any related reexamination will be listed. Ex parte reexaminations are identified by the unique "90" series code, e.g., 90/005,727. Inter partes reexaminations are identified by the unique "95" series code, e.g., 95/000,001.

- Clicking on the underlined (hyperlinked) reexamination number will reveal the "Contents" for the reexamination file.

B.    Using the USPTO Intranet

- From the USPTO Intranet site http://ptoweb/ptointranet/index.htm, Office personnel can click on "PALM" and then "General Information" which opens the PALM INTRANET General Information Display.

- From here, enter the patent number in the box labeled Patent #.

- Click on "Search" and when the "Patent Number Information" appears, click on "Continuity Data" to obtain the reexamination number.

Any reexamination for the patent number will be listed.

There will be about a ten (10) day lag between filing and data entry into the PALM database.