What happens if a supplemental examination request is found to be defective?

If a supplemental examination request is found to be defective, the following process occurs:

1. The USPTO will not grant a filing date to the request, subject to the Office’s discretion.
2. The patent owner will be notified of the defects and given an opportunity to correct them within a specified time.
3. If the patent owner does not timely comply, the request will not be granted a filing date, and the reexamination fee will be refunded.
4. If the patent owner timely files a corrected request addressing all defects, the filing date will be the receipt date of the corrected request.

According to MPEP 2812.01:

“If the Office determines that the request, as originally submitted, is not entitled to a filing date, the patent owner will be so notified and will be given an opportunity to complete the request within a specified time.”

The USPTO will issue a “Notice of Noncompliant Supplemental Examination Request (37 CFR 1.610(d))” detailing the defects in the request.

To learn more:

• defective request
• patent owner notification
• corrected request
• filing date determination