What happens if a patent owner fails to respond timely to an Office action in reexamination?
If a patent owner fails to file a timely and appropriate response to an Office action in a reexamination proceeding, the consequences can be severe. According to the MPEP:
“If the patent owner fails to file a timely and appropriate response to any Office action, the prosecution of the reexamination proceeding will be terminated, unless the response is ‘not fully responsive’ as defined in MPEP § 2266.01 or is an ‘informal submission’ as defined in MPEP § 2266.02.“
After termination of prosecution, the Director will proceed to issue and publish a reexamination certificate. This underscores the importance of timely and proper responses in reexamination proceedings.
To learn more:
Topics:
MPEP 2200 - Citation Of Prior Art And Ex Parte Reexamination Of Patents,
MPEP 2266 - Responses,
Patent Law,
Patent Procedure