MPEP Section 2307, Action During an Interference

Executive summary:

This document contains Section 2307 ("Action During an Interference") 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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2307 Action During an Interference [R-4]

37 CFR 41.103 Jurisdiction over involved files.

The Board acquires jurisdiction over any involved file when the Board initiates a contested case. Other proceedings for the involved file within the Office are suspended except as the Board may order.

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Once a patent or application becomes involved in an interference, the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (Board) has jurisdiction over the file. The examiner may not act on an involved patent or application except as the Board may authorize.

The Board may occasionally consult with the examiner, for instance, on a question regarding the technology at issue in an involved application or patent.

The Board retains jurisdiction over the interference until the interference is terminated. The Director has defined termination to occur after a final Board judgment in the interference and the period for seeking judicial review has expired or, if judicial review is sought, after completion of judicial review including any further action by the Board. 37 CFR 41.205(a).<

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