What happens to claims that are not appealed in a patent application?
Claims that are not appealed in a patent application may be cancelled. According to MPEP 1214.05, “Where, in an appeal brief filed before January 23, 2012, an appellant withdraws some of the appealed claims (i.e., claims subject to a ground of rejection that the appellant did not present for review in the brief), and the Board reverses the examiner on the remaining appealed claims, the withdrawal is treated as an authorization to cancel the withdrawn claims.”
This means that if an applicant chooses not to appeal certain claims and the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI) reverses the examiner’s rejection on the appealed claims, the unappealed claims are considered withdrawn and may be cancelled.
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