What is the difference between a petition to withdraw holding of abandonment and a petition to revive an abandoned application?

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.

A petition to withdraw holding of abandonment is appropriate when the applicant believes the application is not actually abandoned (e.g., there is disagreement about the sufficiency of a reply or relevant dates). This petition does not require a fee. In contrast, a petition to revive an abandoned application is used when there is no dispute about the abandonment but the applicant wants to revive the application. This petition requires a fee and is based on unintentional delay.

As stated in the MPEP: Where an applicant contends that the application is not in fact abandoned (e.g., there is disagreement as to the sufficiency of the reply, or as to controlling dates), a petition under 37 CFR 1.181(a) requesting withdrawal of the holding of abandonment is the appropriate course of action, and such petition does not require a fee. Where there is no dispute as to whether an application is abandoned (e.g., the applicant’s contentions merely involve the cause of abandonment), a petition under 37 CFR 1.137 (accompanied by the appropriate petition fee) is necessary to revive the abandoned application.