What happens to unauthorized papers filed during inter partes reexamination?

This page is an FAQ based on guidance from the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure. It is provided as guidance, with links to the ground truth sources. This is information only: it is not legal advice.

According to MPEP 2667, unauthorized papers filed during inter partes reexamination will not be considered and may be returned. As stated in the MPEP:

“If an unauthorized paper is filed by any party at any time during the inter partes reexamination proceeding it will not be considered and may be returned.”

If the paper has already been scanned into the Image File Wrapper (IFW), it will be “returned” by expunging it, meaning it will be marked as “non-public” and “closed” so that it doesn’t appear in the active IFW record.