How long does a third party requester have to comment on a patent owner’s response in inter partes reexamination?

This page is an FAQ based on guidance from the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure. It is provided as guidance, with links to the ground truth sources. This is information only: it is not legal advice.

In inter partes reexamination, the third party requester has a specific timeframe to comment on the patent owner’s response. According to MPEP 2666.40:

“The third party requester will be given one opportunity to file written comments on any patent owner response to an Office action, provided that the comments are received in the Office within 30 days after the date of service of the patent owner’s response on the third party requester.”

This 30-day period ensures that the third party requester has a chance to address the patent owner’s arguments while keeping the reexamination process moving forward efficiently.