What is the ‘unintentional delay’ standard for reviving an abandoned application?
The ‘unintentional delay’ standard requires that the entire delay in filing the required reply from the due date for the reply until the filing of a grantable petition was unintentional. This applies to the initial delay causing the abandonment, the delay in filing the initial petition, and any delay in filing a grantable petition.
The MPEP states: The Office usually relies upon the applicant’s duty of candor and good faith and accepts the statement that ‘the entire delay in filing the required reply from the due date for the reply until the filing of a grantable petition pursuant to 37 CFR 1.137 was unintentional’ without requiring further information in the vast majority of petitions under 37 CFR 1.137.
However, for petitions filed more than two years after the date of abandonment, the USPTO requires additional information to ensure the entire delay was unintentional.
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