MPEP § 2616 — Substantial New Question of Patentability/Reasonable Likelihood That Requester Will Prevail (Annotated Rules)

§2616 Substantial New Question of Patentability/Reasonable Likelihood That Requester Will Prevail

USPTO MPEP version: BlueIron's Update: 2026-01-17

This page consolidates and annotates all enforceable requirements under MPEP § 2616, including statutory authority, regulatory rules, examiner guidance, and practice notes. It is provided as guidance, with links to the ground truth sources. This is information only, it is not legal advice.

Substantial New Question of Patentability/Reasonable Likelihood That Requester Will Prevail

This section addresses Substantial New Question of Patentability/Reasonable Likelihood That Requester Will Prevail.

Key Rules

Topic

AIA Effective Dates

1 rules
StatutoryInformativeAlways
[mpep-2616-b07f4b82b5590ee847288a02]
Inter Partes Reexamination Not Acceptable After September 16, 2012
Note:
The Office no longer accepts requests for inter partes reexamination filed on or after September 16, 2012.

The Office does not accept requests for inter partes reexamination filed on or after September 16, 2012. See 37 CFR 1.913(b). Guidance on the former practice is available in revision 7 of the 8 th Edition of the MPEP.

Jump to MPEP Source · 37 CFR 1.913(b)AIA Effective DatesAIA Overview and Effective DatesAIA vs Pre-AIA Practice
Topic

SNQ Criteria

1 rules
StatutoryInformativeAlways
[mpep-2616-c5b718389652256195e2adaa]
No Longer Accept Inter Partes Reexamination Requests After September 16, 2012
Note:
The Office no longer accepts inter partes reexamination requests filed on or after September 16, 2012.

The Office does not accept requests for inter partes reexamination filed on or after September 16, 2012. See 37 CFR 1.913(b). Guidance on the former practice is available in revision 7 of the 8 th Edition of the MPEP.

Jump to MPEP Source · 37 CFR 1.913(b)SNQ CriteriaGrounds for ReexaminationThird Party Requester Rights

Citations

Primary topicCitation
AIA Effective Dates
SNQ Criteria
37 CFR § 1.913(b)

Source Text from USPTO’s MPEP

This is an exact copy of the MPEP from the USPTO. It is here for your reference to see the section in context.

BlueIron Last Updated: 2026-01-17