How are materials submitted under MPEP § 724.02 treated in reissue applications open to the public?

Materials submitted under MPEP § 724.02 in reissue applications open to the public under 37 CFR 1.11(b) are treated as follows:

• The materials are kept separate from the reissue application file and are not publicly available until a determination is made regarding their materiality to patentability.
• They will only be released to the public if no petition to expunge was filed before a notice of allowability or abandonment, or if such a petition was denied.
• The examiner reviews the file for any pending petitions to expunge before issuing notices of abandonment or allowability.
• If the information is found to be material to patentability, it becomes a permanent part of the public file.
• If not material, the petition to expunge is granted, and the information is expunged.

As stated in the MPEP: “Materials submitted under MPEP § 724.02 will only be released to the public with any other application papers if no petition to expunge (37 CFR 1.59) was filed prior to the mailing of a notice of allowability or notice of abandonment, or if a petition to expunge was filed and the petition was denied.”

To learn more:

• reissue applications
• public access
• material to patentability
• petition to expunge
• MPEP 724.02
• 37 CFR 1.11(b)

To learn more:

• MPEP 724.02
• 37 CFR 1.11(b)