What constitutes a failure to reply under 37 CFR 1.135(a)?
A failure to reply under 37 CFR 1.135(a) can occur in two ways:
- Failure to reply within the statutory period
- Insufficiency of reply, i.e., failure to file a “complete and proper reply, as the condition of the case may require” within the statutory period
As stated in the MPEP: “37 CFR 1.135(a) specifies that an application becomes abandoned if applicant “fails to reply” to an Office action within the fixed statutory period.“
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