What is the recapture rule in patent reissue applications?
The recapture rule prevents a patent owner from regaining through reissue subject matter that was surrendered during the prosecution of the original patent application to obtain the patent. As stated in MPEP 1412.02: “A reissue will not be granted to ‘recapture’ claimed subject matter which was surrendered in an application to obtain the original patent.”…
Read MoreWhat is the “recapture rule” in broadening reissue claims?
The “recapture rule” is an important concept in broadening reissue claims. According to MPEP 1412.03: “A reissue will not be granted to ‘recapture’ claimed subject matter which was surrendered during prosecution of the original application.” This rule prevents patent owners from using reissue applications to regain subject matter that was deliberately given up during the…
Read MoreWhat are “overlooked aspects” in the context of reissue applications?
“Overlooked aspects” in reissue applications refer to claims drawn to separate inventions, embodiments, or species that were disclosed but never covered by the claims in the original application prosecution. As explained in MPEP 1412.01: “Claims to overlooked aspects are not subject to recapture because the claims are, by definition, unrelated to subject matter that was…
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