How does rescinding a nonpublication request affect patent term adjustment?

Rescinding a nonpublication request unnecessarily can potentially affect patent term adjustment. The MPEP 1123 cautions:

“An applicant should not rescind a nonpublication request or provide a notice of foreign filing unless a nonpublication request was actually made, because filing a rescission when one is not needed leads to a waste of Office resources and may delay prosecution in the application. Furthermore, filing a rescission of a nonpublication request where a nonpublication request was not originally made may result in a reduction to any patent term adjustment under 35 U.S.C. 154(b).“

This means:

• Unnecessary rescissions can waste USPTO resources and delay application processing
• Such actions may lead to a reduction in patent term adjustment
• Applicants should only rescind nonpublication requests when necessary

It’s important for applicants to carefully consider their publication strategy and only file rescissions when truly needed to avoid potential negative consequences.

To learn more:

• nonpublication request
• rescission
• patent term adjustment
• application processing