Can an inadvertent omission in a reply lead to abandonment of a patent application?
Not necessarily. Under 37 CFR 1.135(c), if a reply to a non-final Office action is a bona fide attempt to advance the application and is substantially complete but for an inadvertent omission, the examiner may give the applicant a new time period to supply the omission. The MPEP states:
“When a bona fide attempt to reply includes an inadvertent omission that precludes action on the merits of the application […], the examiner may consider that reply adequate to avoid abandonment under 35 U.S.C. 133 and 37 CFR 1.135, and give the applicant a shortened statutory time period of 2 months to correct the omission.”
This provision helps prevent abandonment due to minor oversights in otherwise substantive responses.
To learn more: