What constitutes a “new ground of rejection” in a patent examiner’s answer?
Determining what constitutes a “new ground of rejection” is a highly fact-specific question. According to MPEP 1207.03(a), the ultimate criterion is “whether appellants have had fair opportunity to react to the thrust of the rejection.” Some examples of new grounds of rejection include: Changing the statutory basis of rejection from 35 U.S.C. 102 to 35…
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