What happens if a proposed amendment is effectively an abandonment of the appeal?

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.

When a proposed amendment during an appeal is effectively an abandonment of the appeal, the Board typically dismisses the appeal. As stated in MPEP 1211.02:

“If the proposed amendment is in effect an abandonment of the appeal, the appeal will normally be dismissed by the Board.”

This means that if the amendment substantially changes the nature of the claims or issues under appeal to the extent that it effectively abandons the original grounds for appeal, the Board is likely to dismiss the appeal rather than proceed with consideration of the new claims or issues.