MPEP Section 408, Telephoning *>Patent Practitioner<

Executive summary:

This document contains Section 408 ("Telephoning *>Patent Practitioner< ") 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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408 Telephoning *>Patent Practitioner< [R-5]

Present Office policy places great emphasis on telephone interviews initiated by the examiner. For this reason, it is not necessary for **>a patent practitioner< to request a telephone interview. Examiners are not required to note or acknowledge requests for telephone calls or state reasons why such proposed telephone interviews would not be considered effective to advance prosecution. However, it is desirable for **>a patent practitioner< to call the examiner if the *>patent practitioner< feels the call will be beneficial to advance prosecution of the application. See MPEP § 713.01 and § 713.05.

Many *>patent practitioners< have offices or representatives in the Washington area and it sometimes expedites business to interview them concerning an application. When the examiner believes the progress of the application would be advanced by an interview, he or she may call the *>patent practitioner< in the application by telephone and ask the *>patent practitioner< to come to the Office.

Registered attorneys or agents not of record in a patent application and acting in a representative capacity under 37 CFR 1.34 should not be telephoned for restriction requirements, approval of examiner"s amendments, or given any information relative to such patent application by telephone. In addition, non-registered representatives of the practitioner of record should not be telephoned for such actions, even if authorized by the attorney or agent of record.

Examiners should place all long distance telephone calls through the FTS (Federal Telecommunications System), even though collect calls may have been authorized by the *>patent practitioner<.

To facilitate any telephone calls that may become necessary, it is strongly recommended that amendments, letters of transmittal, and powers of attorney include the complete telephone number, with area code and extension, of the person with whom the interview should be held, preferably near the signature.

In new applications, the telephone number may appear on the letter of transmittal or in the power of attorney, oath, or declaration, next to the *>patent practitioner's< name and address.

SPECIFIC TELEPHONE INTERVIEW SITUATIONS

For restriction of invention, see MPEP § 812.01.

For multiplicity, see MPEP § 2173.05(n).