What constitutes a bona fide attempt to respond to a patent office action?

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.

A bona fide attempt to respond to a patent office action is a genuine effort to address the issues raised by the examiner. According to MPEP 711.02(a):

“Where there has been a bona fide attempt to advance the application and to respond to the examiner’s objections and rejections, and the record shows continuing efforts to complete the reply within a reasonable time, the examiner should not regard the reply as incomplete.”

This means that even if your response doesn’t fully resolve all issues, if you’ve made a sincere effort to address the examiner’s concerns and are working diligently to complete the reply, it may be considered sufficient to prevent abandonment. However, it’s always best to strive for a complete and thorough response to all objections and rejections.