What is the difference between a petition to withdraw holding of abandonment and a petition to revive an abandoned application?
A petition to withdraw holding of abandonment is appropriate when the applicant believes the application is not actually abandoned (e.g., there is disagreement about the sufficiency of a reply or relevant dates). This petition does not require a fee. In contrast, a petition to revive an abandoned application is used when there is no dispute about the abandonment but the applicant wants to revive the application. This petition requires a fee and is based on unintentional delay.
As stated in the MPEP: Where an applicant contends that the application is not in fact abandoned (e.g., there is disagreement as to the sufficiency of the reply, or as to controlling dates), a petition under 37 CFR 1.181(a) requesting withdrawal of the holding of abandonment is the appropriate course of action, and such petition does not require a fee. Where there is no dispute as to whether an application is abandoned (e.g., the applicant’s contentions merely involve the cause of abandonment), a petition under 37 CFR 1.137 (accompanied by the appropriate petition fee) is necessary to revive the abandoned application.
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