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2218 Copies of Prior Art [R-2] - 2200 Citation of Prior Art and Ex Parte Reexamination of Patents
2218 Copies of Prior Art [R-2]
It is required that a copy of each patent or printed publication relied on or referred to in the request>,< be filed with the request ( 37 CFR 1.510(b)(3)). If any of the documents are not in the English language, an English language translation of all necessary and pertinent parts is also required. An English language summary or abstract of a non-English language document is usually not sufficient.
It is also helpful to include copies of the prior art considered during earlier prosecution of the patent for which reexamination is requested. The presence of both the old and the new prior art allows a comparison to be made to determine whether a substantial new question of patentability is indeed present. See MPEP § 2242.
Copies of parent applications should be submitted if the content of the parent application has a bearing on the alleged substantial new question of patentability; for example, if the patent is a continuation-in-part and the question of patentability relates to a rejection based on intervening prior art where support in the parent application is relevant. In re Ruscetta, 255 F. 2d 687, 118 USPQ 101 (CCPA 1958).
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