MPEP Section 707.13, Returned Office Action

Executive summary:

This document contains Section 707.13 ("Returned Office Action") 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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707.13 Returned Office Action [R-6]

Office actions are sometimes returned to the Office because the United States Postal Service has not been able to deliver them. Upon receipt of the returned Office action, the Technology Center (TC) technical support staff will check the application file record to ensure that the Office action was mailed to the correct correspondence address. If the Office action was not mailed to the correct correspondence address, it should be stamped "remailed" with the remailing date and mailed to the correct correspondence address. The period running against the application begins with the date of remailing. If the Office action was mailed to the correct correspondence address and it was addressed to an attorney or agent, a letter **>along with a copy of the Office action may be sent to the first named inventor or assignee (if available)< informing him or her of the returned action. **>The time period for reply to the Office action will be restarted to run from the mailing date of the letter informing applicant of the returned action<.

If the Office is not finally successful in delivering the letter, it is placed, with the envelope, in the file wrapper. For an Image File Wrapper (IFW), a copy of the letter and a copy of the envelope should be added to the IFW (see IFW Manual). If the period dating from the remailing elapses with no communication from applicant, the application is abandoned.