What happens if a reissue application is abandoned?
When a reissue application is abandoned, the general rule is that the original patent remains in force. This is because the surrender of the original patent does not occur until a reissue patent is actually granted. The MPEP cites a Supreme Court case to support this:
“Generally, if a reissue application is abandoned, the original patent remains in force because surrender of the patent did not occur. See McCormick Harvesting Mach. Co. v. C. Aultman & Co., 169 U.S. 606, 610 (1898).”
However, there’s an important exception to this rule in cases involving multiple reissue applications. The MPEP states:
“In the situation where multiple reissue applications are filed, the original patent is surrendered when at least one reissued patent has been granted and there are no pending applications for reissue of the original patent.”
This means that if one reissue application is granted while others are abandoned, the original patent is still surrendered upon the grant of that one reissue patent.
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