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1470 Public Access of Reissue Applications [R-3] - 1400 Correction of Patents
1470 Public Access of Reissue Applications [R-3]
37 CFR 1.11(b) opens all reissue applications filed after March 1, 1977, to inspection by the general public. 37 CFR 1.11(b) also provides for announcement of the filings of reissue applications in the Official Gazette (except for continued prosecution applications filed under 37 CFR 1.53(d)). This announcement will give interested members of the public an opportunity to submit to the examiner information pertinent to patentability of the reissue application.
The filing of a continued prosecution application under 37 CFR 1.53(d) of a reissue application will not be announced in the Official Gazette. Although the filing of a continued prosecution application of a reissue application constitutes the filing of a reissue application, the announcement of the filing of such continued prosecution application would be redundant in view of the announcement of the filing of the prior reissue application in the Official Gazette.
37 CFR 1.11(b) is applicable **>to all< reissue applications filed on or after March 1, 1977. Those reissue applications previously on file will not be automatically open to inspection but a liberal policy will be followed in granting petitions for access to such applications.
**>IFW reissue application files are open to inspection by the general public by way of Public PAIR via the USPTO Internet site. In viewing the images of the files, members of the public will be able to view the entire content of the reissue application file history. To access Public PAIR, a member of the public would (A) go to the USPTO web site at http://www.uspto.gov, (B) click on "Patents," (C) under "Check Status, View Papers…" click on "Status & IFW," and (D) under "Patent Application Information Retrieval" enter the reissue application number.
Access to a reissue application that is maintained in paper must be obtained from the area of the Office having jurisdiction over the file. The following access procedure will be observed for reissue application files that are maintained in paper:
(A) Any member of the general public may request access to a particular reissue application filed after March 1, 1977. Since no record of such request is intended to be kept, an oral request will suffice. (Reissue applications already on file prior to March 1, 1977 are not automatically open to inspection, but a liberal policy is followed by the Office of Patent Legal Administration (OPLA) and by the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences in granting petitions for access to such applications.);
(B) Paper reissue application files will be maintained in the TCs and inspection thereof will be supervised by TC personnel. A TC Director or other appropriate Office official may, under appropriate circumstances, postpone access to or the making of copies of a paper reissue application file, in order, for example, to avoid interruption of the examination or other review of the application by an examiner. In addition, though no general limit is placed on the amount of time spent reviewing the files, the Office may impose limitations, if necessary, e.g., where the application is actively being processed;
(C) In any instance where the reissue application file has left the TC for administrative processing, requests for access should be directed to the appropriate supervisory personnel where the application is currently located;<
(D) A >paper< reissue application file is not available to the public once the reissue application file has been released and forwarded by the TC for publication of the reissue patent. This would include any reissue application files which have been selected for a post-allowance screening at **>OPLA<. Unless prosecution is reopened pursuant to the screening, the reissue application files are not available to the public until the reissue patent issues. This is because the reissue application file has been put into a special format for printing purposes and public access at this stage would disrupt the publication process;
(E) Requests for copies of papers in the reissue application file must be in writing addressed to Mail Stop Document Services, Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450. Such requests may be either mailed or delivered to the Customer Service Window. The price for a copy of an application as filed is set forth in 37 CFR 1.19(b)(1). Since no useful purpose is seen for retaining such written requests for copies of papers in reissue applications, the request(s) should be destroyed after the order has been completed.
See also MPEP § 103.
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