What happens if a proposed amendment is effectively an abandonment of the appeal?

When a proposed amendment during an appeal is effectively an abandonment of the appeal, the Board typically dismisses the appeal. As stated in MPEP 1211.02:

“If the proposed amendment is in effect an abandonment of the appeal, the appeal will normally be dismissed by the Board.”

This means that if the amendment substantially changes the nature of the claims or issues under appeal to the extent that it effectively abandons the original grounds for appeal, the Board is likely to dismiss the appeal rather than proceed with consideration of the new claims or issues.

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Tags: abandonment of appeal, Appeal Dismissal, claim amendments, Patent Appeals