What evidence is required to establish non-receipt of an Office action in a patent application?

This page is an FAQ based on guidance from the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure. It is provided as guidance, with links to the ground truth sources. This is information only: it is not legal advice.

To establish non-receipt of an Office action in a patent application, the USPTO requires specific evidence. This is crucial when filing a petition to withdraw the holding of abandonment based on non-receipt.

According to MPEP 711.03(c):

‘The showing required to establish nonreceipt of an Office communication must include a statement from the practitioner describing the system used for recording an Office action received at the correspondence address of record with the USPTO. The statement should establish that the docketing system is sufficiently reliable.’

The evidence typically includes:

• A statement from the practitioner or applicant describing their system for tracking USPTO communications
• Copies of records showing other communications received from the USPTO around the same time
• An explanation of why the specific Office action was not received
• Any available evidence of non-receipt, such as USPS tracking information

The USPTO will consider all evidence presented to determine if non-receipt is established and whether to withdraw the holding of abandonment.