What are the consequences of not replying to an Office action within the set time period?
What are the consequences of not replying to an Office action within the set time period?
If an applicant fails to reply to an Office action within the set time period, there can be serious consequences for the patent application. According to MPEP 704.13:
“Failure to reply within the time period provided under 37 CFR 1.134 and 1.136 will result in abandonment of the application.”
This means that if you don’t respond to the Office action by the deadline (including any extensions), your patent application will be considered abandoned. To continue pursuing patent protection, you would need to file a petition to revive the application, which may involve additional fees and explanation of the delay.
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