Do patent examiners need to conduct a second search after the first Office action?

Generally, patent examiners do not need to conduct a second search after the first Office action, unless specific circumstances arise. The MPEP states: Following the first Office action, the examiner need not ordinarily make a second search of the prior art, unless necessitated by amendments to the claims by the applicant in a reply to the first Office action, except to check to determine whether any reference which would appear to be substantially more pertinent than the prior art cited in the first Office action has become available subsequent to the initial prior art search.

However, if the examiner does update the search, they must document this in the IFW search notes form, as mentioned in MPEP § 719.05.

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Tags: office action, patent examination, prior art search, search update