Can interviews be conducted after an application is no longer under the examiner’s jurisdiction?
Once an application is no longer under the examiner’s jurisdiction during the appeal process, interviews are generally not permitted. However, there is a provision for exceptional circumstances: “Requests for interviews on cases under the jurisdiction of the Board should be granted only with specific approval of the Technology Center Director upon a showing in writing…
Read MoreWhat are considered “extraordinary circumstances” for deferring patent issuance?
The MPEP provides guidance on what is not considered extraordinary circumstances for deferring patent issuance: “Situations like negotiation of licenses, time for filing in foreign countries, collection of data for filing a continuation-in-part application, or a desire for simultaneous issuance of related applications are not considered to amount to extraordinary circumstances.” While the MPEP does…
Read MoreWhat are ‘extraordinary circumstances’ for using Patentability Reports?
The Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP) § 705 emphasizes that Patentability Reports should only be used in extraordinary circumstances. While the MPEP doesn’t provide an exhaustive list of what constitutes ‘extraordinary circumstances,’ we can infer from the context that these may include: Applications with claims spanning multiple, distinctly different technology areas Cases where the…
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