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2618 Copies of Prior Art (Patents and Printed Publications) [Added R-2] - 2600 Optional Inter Partes Reexamination
2618 Copies of Prior Art (Patents and Printed Publications) [Added R-2]
It is required that a copy of each patent or printed publication relied upon, or referred to, in the request be filed with the request (37 CFR 1.915(b)(4)). 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.
Copies of parent applications should also be submitted if the parent applications relate to the alleged substantial new question of patentability. For example, a parent application relates to the alleged substantial new question where the patent is a continuation-in-part and the question of patentability relates to support in the parent application for the claims.
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