MPEP Section 2661, Special Status for Action [Added R-2]

Executive summary:

This document contains Section 2661 ("Special Status for Action [Added R-2]") 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 (§2660.03) | Next Section (§2662)

2661 Special Status for Action [Added R-2]

35 U.S.C. 314 Special Status For Action

*****

(c) SPECIAL DISPATCH.- Unless otherwise provided by the Director for good cause, all inter partes reexamination proceedings under this section, including any appeal to the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, shall be conducted with special dispatch within the Office.

---

In view of the requirement for "special dispatch," all reexamination proceedings will be "special" throughout their pendency in the Office. In order to further the requirement for special dispatch, the examiner's first Office action on the merits in an inter partes reexamination should ordinarily be mailed together with the order for reexamination. See MPEP § 2660.

Any cases involved in litigation, whether they are reexamination proceedings or reissue applications, will have priority over all other cases. Reexamination proceedings not involved in litigation will have priority over all other cases except for reexaminations or reissues involved in litigation.