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2246 Decision Ordering Reexamination [R-5] - 2200 Citation of Prior Art and Ex Parte Reexamination of Patents
2246 Decision Ordering Reexamination [R-5]
35 U.S.C. 304 Reexamination order by Director.
If, in a determination made under the provisions of sub section 303(a) of this title, the Director finds that a substantial new question of patentability affecting any claim of a patent is raised, the determination will include an order for reexamination of the patent for resolution of the question. The patent owner will be given a reasonable period, not less than two months from the date a copy of the determination is given or mailed to him, within which he may file a statement on such question, including any amendment to his patent and new claim or claims he may wish to propose, for consideration in the reexamination. If the patent owner files such a statement, he promptly will serve a copy of it on the person who has requested reexamination under the provisions of section 302 of this title. Within a period of two months from the date of service, that person may file and have considered in the reexamination a reply to any statement filed by the patent owner. That person promptly will serve on the patent owner a copy of any reply filed.
37 CFR 1.525 Order for ex parte reexamination.
(a) If a substantial new question of patentability is found pursuant to § 1.515 or § 1.520, the determination will include an order for ex parte reexamination of the patent for resolution of the question. If the order for ex parte reexamination resulted from a petition pursuant to § 1.515(c), the ex parte reexamination will ordinarily be conducted by an examiner other than the examiner responsible for the initial determination under § 1.515(a).
(b) The notice published in the Official Gazette under § 1.11(c) will be considered to be constructive notice and ex parte reexamination will proceed.
If a request for reexamination is granted, the examiner's decision granting the request will conclude that a substantial new question of patentability has been raised by (A) identifying all claims and issues, (B) identifying the patents and/or printed publications relied on, and (C) providing a brief statement of the rationale supporting each new question.
In the examiner's decision, the examiner must identify at least one substantial new question of patentability and explain how the prior art patents and/or printed publications raise such a question. The examiner should indicate, insofar as possible, his or her initial position on all the issues identified in the request or by the requester (without rejecting claims) so that comment thereon may be received in the patent owner's statement and in the requester's reply. The prior art relied on should be listed on a form PTO-892 if it is not already listed on a form ** PTO/SB/08A or 08B, or PTO/SB/42 (or on a form having a format equivalent to one of these forms) by the requester. A copy of a reference should be supplied only where it has not been previously supplied to the patent owner and requester.
As to each substantial new question of patentability identified in the decision, the decision should point out:
(A) The prior art patents and printed publications which add some new teaching as to at least one claim;
(B) What that new teaching is;
(C) The claims that the new teaching is directed to;
(D) That the new teaching was not previously considered nor addressed in the prior examination of the patent or a final holding of invalidity by the Federal Courts;
(E) That the new teaching is such that a reasonable examiner would consider the new teaching to be important in deciding to allow the claim being considered; and
(F) Where the question is raised, or where it is not clear that a patent or printed publication pre-dates the patent claims, a discussion should be provided as to why the patent or printed publication is deemed to be available against the patent claims.
See MPEP § 2247.01 for an example of a decision granting a request for reexamination.
In a simple case, the examiner may adopt the reasons provided by the requester in the discussion of the substantial new question of patentability.
The example in MPEP § 2247.01 is drafted for the case where the "request indicates that Requester considers that Claims 1-3 are unpatentable over Smith taken with Jones." There may, however, be a request that does not indicate the claims to be unpatentable over the art, but rather that a substantial new question of patentability is raised by the art. This may occur, for example, in a patent owner request filed to address prior art that raises a substantial new question of patentability but the claims are still patentable over the art. In such an instance, the decision on the request should not state that the "request indicates that Requester considers that Claims 1-3 are unpatentable over Smith taken with Jones." Rather, it should state that the "request indicates that Requester considers that a substantial new question of patentability is raised as to Claims 1-3 based on Smith taken with Jones."
In the decision on the request, the examiner will not decide, and no statement should be made as to, whether the claims are rejected over the patents and printed publications. The examiner does not decide on the question of patentability of the claims in the decision on the request. The examiner only decides whether there is a substantial new question of patentability to grant the request to order reexamination.
If arguments are raised by a requester (third party or patent owner) as to grounds not based on the patents or printed publications, such as those based on public use or sale, or abandonment under 35 U.S.C. 102(c), the examiner should note that such grounds are improper for reexamination and are not considered or commented upon. See 37 CFR 1.552(c).
The decision granting the request is made on a decision form and must set forth the time periods for the patent owner and requester to file their statement and any reply thereto.
Form paragraph 22.01 should be used at the *>beginning< of each decision letter.
¶ 22.01 New Question of Patentability
A substantial new question of patentability affecting claim [1] of United States Patent Number [2] is raised by the request for ex parte reexamination.
Extensions of time under 37 CFR 1.136(a) will not be permitted in these proceedings because the provisions of 37 CFR 1.136 apply only to "an applicant" and not to parties in a reexamination proceeding. Additionally, 35 U.S.C. 305 requires that ex parte reexamination proceedings "will be conducted with special dispatch" (37 CFR 1.550(a)). Extensions of time in ex parte reexamination proceedings are provided for in 37 CFR 1.550(c).
**>Form paragraph 22.73 should be used at the end of each decision letter.
¶ 22.73 Correspondence and Inquiry as to Office Actions
All correspondence relating to this ex parte reexamination proceeding should be directed:
By Mail to: Mail Stop Ex Parte Reexam
Central Reexamination Unit
Commissioner for Patents
United States Patent & Trademark Office
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, VA 22313-1450
By FAX to: (571) 273-9900
Central Reexamination Unit
By hand: Customer Service Window
Randolph Building
401 Dulany Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
Any inquiry concerning this communication should be directed to [1] at telephone number [2].
Examiner Note
1. This form paragraph is used at the end of ex parte reexaminatoin communications.
2. In bracket 1, insert the name of the examiner having charge of the proceeding.
3. In bracket 2, insert the examiner's telephone number.
I. PANEL REVIEW CONFERENCE
After an examiner has determined that the reexamination proceeding is ready for granting reexamination, the examiner will formulate a draft preliminary order granting reexamination. The examiner will then inform his/her Special Program Examiner (SPRE) of his/her intent to issue an order granting reexamination. The SPRE will convene a panel review conference, and the conference members will review the matter. See MPEP § 2271.01 for the make-up of the panel. If the conference confirms the examiner's preliminary decision to grant reexamination, the proposed order granting reexamination shall be issued and signed by the examiner, with the two other conferees initialing the action (as "conferee") to indicate their presence in the conference. If the conference does not confirm the examiner's preliminary decision, the examiner will reevaluate and issue an appropriate communication.<
*>II. < PETITION TO VACATE THE ORDER GRANTING REEXAMINATION
A substantive determination by the Director of the USPTO to institute reexamination pursuant to a finding that the prior art patents or printed publications raise a substantial new question of patentability is not subject to review by the courts until a final agency decision in the reexamination proceeding has issued. See Joy Mfg. Co. v. Nat'l Mine Serv. Co., Inc., 810 F.2d 1127, 1 USPQ2d 1627 (Fed. Cir. 1987); Heinl v. Godici, 143 F. Supp.2d 593 (E.D.Va. 2001). Note further the decision of Patlex Corp. v. Quigg, 680 F. Supp. 33, 35, 6 USPQ2d 1296, 1298 (D.D.C. 1988) (the legislative scheme leaves the Director's 35 U.S.C. 303 determination entirely to his or her discretion and not subject to judicial review until a final agency decision on the reexamination proceeding has issued). Accordingly, neither the patent owner nor the requester has a right to petition, or request reconsideration of, a finding that prior art patents or printed publications raise a substantial new question after a request for reexamination is granted. There is no right to petition such a finding after a request for reexamination is granted even if the finding of a substantial new question is based on reasons other than those urged by the requester (or based on less than all the grounds urged by the requester). Where the examiner determines that a date of a reference is early enough such that the reference constitutes prior art, that determination is not petitionable (with respect to vacating the examiner's finding of a substantial new question). Where the examiner determines that a reference is a printed publication (i.e., that the criteria for publication has been satisfied), that determination is also not petitionable. These matters cannot be questioned with respect to vacating the order granting reexamination until a final agency decision on the reexamination proceeding has issued. Rather, these matters can be argued by the patent owner and appealed during the examination phase of the reexamination proceeding.
A petition under 37 CFR 1.181 may, however, be filed to vacate an ultra vires reexamination order, such as where the order for reexamination is not based on prior art patents and printed publications. In cases where no discretion to grant a request for reexamination exists, a petition to vacate the decision to grant, or a request for reconsideration, will be entertained. "Appropriate circumstances" under 37 CFR 1.181(a)(3) exist to vacate the order granting reexamination where, for example:
(A) the reexamination order is not based on prior art patents or printed publications;
(B) all claims of the patent were held to be invalid by a final decision of a Federal Court after all appeals;
(C) reexamination was ordered for the wrong patent;
(D) reexamination was ordered based on a duplicate copy of the request; or
(E) the reexamination order is based wholly on the same question of patentability raised by the prior art previously considered in an earlier concluded examination of the patent by the Office (e.g., the application which matured into the patent, a prior reexamination, an interference proceeding).
As to (E) above, the decision of In re Recreative Technologies Corp., 83 F.3d 1394, 38 USPQ2d 1776 (Fed. Cir. 1996) is to be noted. See the discussion in MPEP § 2242 subsection II.A. as to the criteria for vacating a reexamination order in view of the *>decision<.
When a petition under 37 CFR 1.181 is filed to vacate *>a< reexamination order, the third party requester (where one is present in the reexamination proceeding) may file a single submission in opposition to the petition. Because reexamination proceedings are conducted with special dispatch, 35 U.S.C. 305, any such opposition by the third party requester must be filed within two weeks of the date upon which a copy of the original 37 CFR 1.181 petition was served on the third party requester to ensure consideration. It is advisable that, upon receipt and review of the served copy of such a 37 CFR 1.181 petition which the third party requester intends to oppose, the requester should immediately place a courtesy telephone call to both the Central Reexamination Unit **>(CRU) support staff< and the Special Program Examiner in the **>CRU or Technology Center (TC)< in which the reexamination proceeding is pending to notify the Office that an opposition to the 37 CFR 1.181 petition will be filed. Whenever possible, filing of the opposition should be submitted by facsimile transmission.
The filing of a 37 CFR 1.181 petition to vacate an ultra vires reexamination order is limited to a single submission, even if an opposition thereto is filed by a third party requester.
II. PRIOR ART SUBMITTED AFTER THE ORDER
Any prior art citations under 37 CFR 1.501 submitted after the date of the decision on the order should be retained in a separate file by the **>CRU or TC (usually the CRU or TC Special Program Examiner)< and stored until the reexamination proceeding is concluded, at which time the prior art citation is then entered of record on the patent file. See MPEP § 2206.
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