What happens if an applicant’s interview record is incomplete or inaccurate?
If an applicant’s record of a patent interview is found to be incomplete or inaccurate, the examiner has the authority to take action to ensure a proper record is made. According to MPEP 713.04:
Examiners are expected to carefully review the applicant’s record of the substance of an interview. If the record is not complete or accurate, the examiner may give the applicant a 2-month time period to complete the reply under 37 CFR 1.135(c) where the record of the substance of the interview is in a reply to a non-final Office action.
In such cases, the examiner may use Form Paragraph 7.84 to notify the applicant that their reply is not fully responsive due to an incomplete or inaccurate interview record. The applicant is then given a shortened statutory period of TWO MONTHS to supply the omission or correction to avoid abandonment of the application.
If there are inaccuracies that directly bear on the question of patentability, the examiner should point these out in the next Office communication and provide an accurate version of the examiner’s argument or statement.
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