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2363 Action After Interference - 2300 Interference Proceedings
2363 Action After Interference
37 CFR 1.664 Action after interference.
(a) After termination of an interference, the examiner will promptly take such action in any application previously involved in the interference as may be necessary. Unless entered by order of an administrative patent judge, amendments presented during the interference shall not be entered, but may be subsequently presented by the applicant subject to the provisions of this subpart provided prosecution of the application is not otherwise closed.
(b) After judgment, the application of any party may be held subject to further examination, including an interference with another application.
The files are returned to the Technology Center (TC) after termination of the interference. Jurisdiction of the examiner is automatically restored with the return of the files, and the cases of all parties are subject to such ex parte action as their respective conditions may require. The date when the interference terminates does not mark the beginning of a statutory period for reply by the applicant. See Ex parte Peterson, 49 USPQ 119, 1941 C.D. 8 (Comm'r Pat. 1941).
Under 37 CFR 1.664(a), the examiner must promptly take such action in any application which was involved in the interference as may be necessary. The action to be taken by the examiner depends upon how the interference was terminated, and in some instances, the basis of the termination. See MPEP § 2363.01 to § 2363.03. All interferences conducted under 37 CFR subpart E will be terminated by judgment. If the interference is one which was conducted under the former interference rules, 37 CFR 1.201 to 1.288 (generally these were interferences declared prior to February 11, 1985), an administrative patent judge should be consulted before taking any action on the involved application(s).
Before allowing a losing party's application, the examiner should carefully consider whether the grounds of estoppel have been fully applied. In order to promote uniform application of the doctrines of lost counts and estoppel, the examiner must consult the administrative patent judge who was in charge of the interference before allowing a losing party's application.
If an application has been withdrawn from issue for interference and is again passed to issue, a notation "Re-examined and passed for issue" is placed on the file wrapper together with a new signature of the primary examiner in the box provided for this purpose. Such notation will be relied on by the Office of Patent Publication as showing that the application is intended to be passed for issue and makes it possible to screen out those applications which are mistakenly forwarded to the Office of Patent Publication during the pendency of the interference.
See MPEP § 1302.12 with respect to listing references discussed in motion decisions, and MPEP § 2364 concerning the entry of amendments.
Form Paragraph 23.02 may be used to resume ex parte prosecution.
¶ 23.02 Ex Parte Prosecution Is Resumed
Interference No. [1] has been terminated by a decision [2] to applicant. Ex parte prosecution is resumed.
Examiner Note
In bracket 2, insert whether favorable or unfavorable.
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