How can a patent owner seek review of a Substantial New Question of Patentability (SNQ) determination?
A patent owner can seek review of a Substantial New Question of Patentability (SNQ) determination before the Board along with an appeal of the examiner’s rejections. The MPEP outlines the process:
“To obtain review of the SNQ issue, patent owner must include the SNQ issue and the appropriate arguments in its appeal brief to the Board. In order to preserve the right to have the Board review of the SNQ issue, a patent owner must have first requested reconsideration of the SNQ issue by the examiner.”
The patent owner should clearly present the SNQ issue under a separate heading in the appeal brief and identify the communication in which they first requested reconsideration before the examiner.
To learn more:
Topics:
MPEP 2200 - Citation Of Prior Art And Ex Parte Reexamination Of Patents,
MPEP 2274 - Appeal Brief,
Patent Law,
Patent Procedure