[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 37, Volume 1]
[Revised as of July 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 37CFR1.197]

[Page 97-98]
 
              TITLE 37--PATENTS, TRADEMARKS, AND COPYRIGHTS
 
                         DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
 
PART 1--RULES OF PRACTICE IN PATENT CASES--Table of Contents
 
                Subpart B--National Processing Provisions
 
Sec. 1.197  Action following decision.

    (a) After decision by the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, 
the application will be returned to the examiner, subject to appellant's 
right of

[[Page 98]]

appeal or other review, for such further action by appellant or by the 
examiner, as the condition of the application may require, to carry into 
effect the decision.
    (b) Appellant may file a single request for rehearing within two 
months from the date of the original decision, unless the original 
decision is so modified by the decision on rehearing as to become, in 
effect, a new decision, and the Board of Patent Appeals and 
Interferences so states. The request for rehearing must state with 
particularity the points believed to have been misapprehended or 
overlooked in rendering the decision and also state all other grounds 
upon which rehearing is sought. See Sec. 1.136(b) for extensions of time 
for seeking rehearing in a patent application and Sec. 1.550(c) for 
extensions of time for seeking rehearing in a reexamination proceeding.
    (c) Termination of proceedings. Proceedings are considered 
terminated by the dismissal of an appeal or the failure to timely file 
an appeal to the court or a civil action (Sec. 1.304) except:
    (1) Where claims stand allowed in an application or
    (2) Where the nature of the decision requires further action by the 
examiner.

The date of termination of proceedings is the date on which the appeal 
is dismissed or the date on which the time for appeal to the court or 
review by civil action (Sec. 1.304) expires. If an appeal to the court 
or a civil action has been filed, proceedings are considered terminated 
when the appeal or civil action is terminated. An appeal to the U.S. 
Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is terminated when the mandate 
is received by the Office. A civil action is terminated when the time to 
appeal the judgment expires.

(35 U.S.C. 6, Pub. L. 97-247; 15 U.S.C. 1113, 1123)

[46 FR 29184, May 29, 1981, as amended at 49 FR 48453, Dec. 12, 1984; 54 
FR 29552, July 13, 1989; 58 FR 54510, Oct. 22, 1993; 62 FR 53198, Oct. 
10, 1997]