How does an examiner handle a submission not fully responsive to a non-final Office action?

An examiner has two main options when handling a submission not fully responsive to a non-final Office action, as outlined in MPEP 2666.30:

1. Option A: Waive minor deficiencies and act on the submission.
2. Option B: Treat it as an incomplete response and notify the patent owner to complete the response within a set period.

The choice depends on the severity of the deficiency. For minor issues, the examiner may proceed with Option A. For more serious omissions, Option B is preferred, which involves issuing a written notification under 37 CFR 1.957(d) giving the patent owner a new time period (usually one month) to complete the response.

To learn more:

• inter partes reexamination
• non-final Office action
• examiner response
• incomplete submission