37 CFR § 1.26 — Refunds. (MPEP Coverage Index) – BlueIron IP
37 CFR § 1.26 Refunds.
This page consolidates MPEP guidance interpreting 37 CFR § 1.26, including 122 rules 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.
Summary
This section provides guidance on petitions for refunds of fees paid in international and national patent applications, focusing on the requirements and procedures under 37 CFR 1.26.
What this section covers
- Define what this section covers at a high level, including petitions for refunds of fees paid in international and national applications.
- Identify the core topic and scope of guidance in this section, focusing on requests under 37 CFR 1.26 or 1.446 for refunds.
Key obligations
- State the primary requirement practitioners must satisfy, which is to file a petition for refund of fees paid in an international or national application.
- State an additional required element or condition if applicable, such as providing evidence of overpayment or non-use of services.
- State a key compliance obligation tied to authority (USC/CFR), ensuring that the petition is filed within the prescribed time limit.
Practice notes
- Give a practical drafting or filing tip grounded in this section, such as ensuring all required evidence is included with the petition.
- Call out a common pitfall or best practice relevant to this section, like avoiding delays in filing the petition by adhering to the time limits.
Official MPEP § 1.26 — Refunds.
Source: USPTOLast Modified: 10/30/2024 08:50:22
1.26 Refunds.
- (a) The Director may refund any fee paid by mistake or in excess of that required. A change of purpose after the payment of a fee, such as when a party desires to withdraw a patent filing for which the fee was paid, including an application, an appeal, or a request for an oral hearing, will not entitle a party to a refund of such fee. The Office will not refund amounts of twenty-five dollars or less unless a refund is specifically requested, and will not notify the payor of such amounts. If a party paying a fee or requesting a refund does not provide the banking information necessary for making refunds by electronic funds transfer (31 U.S.C. 3332 and 31 CFR part 208), or instruct the Office that refunds are to be credited to a deposit account, the Director may require such information, or use the banking information on the payment instrument to make a refund. Any refund of a fee paid by credit card will be by a credit to the credit card account to which the fee was charged.
- (b) Any request for refund must be filed within two years from the date the fee was paid, except as otherwise provided in this paragraph or in § 1.28(a) . If the Office charges a deposit account by an amount other than an amount specifically indicated in an authorization (§ 1.25(b)) , any request for refund based upon such charge must be filed within two years from the date of the deposit account statement indicating such charge, and include a copy of that deposit account statement. The time periods set forth in this paragraph are not extendable.
- (c) If the Director decides not to institute a
reexamination proceeding in response to a request for reexamination
or supplemental examination, fees paid with the request for
reexamination or supplemental examination will be refunded or
returned in accordance with paragraphs (c)(1) through (c)(3) of
this section. The reexamination requester or the patent owner who
requested a supplemental examination proceeding, as appropriate,
should indicate the form in which any refund should be made
(
e.g., by check, electronic funds transfer,
credit to a deposit account). Generally, refunds will be issued in
the form that the original payment was provided.
- (1) For an ex parte reexamination request, the ex parte reexamination filing fee paid by the reexamination requester, less the fee set forth in § 1.20(c)(7) , will be refunded to the requester if the Director decides not to institute an ex parte reexamination proceeding.
- (2) For an inter partes reexamination request, a refund of $7,970 will be made to the reexamination requester if the Director decides not to institute an inter partes reexamination proceeding.
- (3) For a supplemental examination request, the fee for reexamination ordered as a result of supplemental examination, as set forth in § 1.20(k)(2) , will be returned to the patent owner who requested the supplemental examination proceeding if the Director decides not to institute a reexamination proceeding.
[47 FR 41272, Sept. 17, 1982, effective Oct. 1, 1982; 50 FR 31826 Aug. 6, 1985, effective Oct. 5, 1985; para. (c), 54 FR 6893, Feb. 15, 1989, effective Apr. 17, 1989; para. (c), 56 FR 65142, Dec. 13, 1991, effective Dec. 16, 1991; paras. (a) and (c), 57 FR 38190, Aug. 21, 1992, effective Oct. 1,1992; para. (a) revised, 62 FR 53132, Oct. 10, 1997, effective Dec. 1, 1997; para. (a) revised and para. (b) added, 65 FR 54604, Sept. 8, 2000, effective Nov. 7, 2000; para. (c) revised, 65 FR 76756, Dec. 7, 2000, effective Feb. 5, 2001; paras. (a) & (c) revised, 68 FR 14332, Mar. 25, 2003, effective May 1, 2003; para. (a) revised, 68 FR 48286, Aug. 13, 2003, effective Sept. 12, 2003; paras. (a) and (b) revised, 72 FR 46716, Aug. 21, 2007 (implementation enjoined and never became effective); paras. (a) and (b) revised, 74 FR 52686, Oct. 14, 2009, effective Oct. 14, 2009 (to remove changes made by the final rules in 72 FR 46716 from the CFR); para. (c) revised, 77 FR 48828, Aug. 14, 2012, effective Sept. 16, 2012]
- Abandonment
- Access Records
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- Certificate Of Mailing
- Director Authority
- Petition Procedures
- Petition Filing
- Entity Status
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- Ex Parte Reexamination
- Reexamination Request
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- Interference Proceedings
- Interference Procedure
- Maintenance Fee Late
- Late Payment Surcharge
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- Pct
- Pct Fees
- Pct Filing
- Ptab Contested Case
- Reissue
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