How is the due date for an appeal brief calculated?
The due date for an appeal brief is calculated based on the receipt date of the notice of appeal. According to MPEP 1205.01:
“The Office date of receipt of the notice of appeal (and not the date indicated on any Certificate of Mailing under 37 CFR 1.8) is the date from which this 2-month time period is measured.”
For example:
- If a notice of appeal is received on December 30, the appeal brief would typically be due on February 28 (or 29 in a leap year), unless that day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday.
- If the notice of appeal is filed using the Priority Mail Express® service of the USPS, the date of deposit with the USPS (shown by the “date accepted” on the label) is considered the receipt date.
It’s important to note that any extensions of time granted are added to this initial 2-month period. For instance, if a one-month extension is granted, the new due date would be March 30 in the above example, again adjusting for weekends and holidays.
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