MPEP Section 2304.03, Patentee Suggestion

Executive summary:

This document contains Section 2304.03 ("Patentee Suggestion") 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.

For more information on patent law, please see the Patent Section of BitLaw. For patent services, see the Beck & Tysver pages.

Previous Section (§2304.02(d)) | Next Section (§2304.04)

2304.03 Patentee Suggestion [R-4]

37 CFR 41.202 Suggesting an interference.

*****

(b) Patentee. A patentee cannot suggest an interference under this section but may, to the extent permitted under § 1.99 and § 1.291 of this title, alert the examiner of an application claiming interfering subject matter to the possibility of an interference.

*****

---

A patentee may not suggest an interference unless it becomes an applicant by filing a reissue application. A patentee may, however, to the limited extent permitted under 37 CFR 1.99 and 1.291, alert an examiner to the existence of interfering claims in an application. See MPEP § 1134 and § 1901.<

>