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408 Telephoning Attorney - 400 Representative of Inventor or Owner
408 Telephoning Attorney
Present Office policy places great emphasis on telephone interviews initiated by the examiner. For this reason, it is not necessary for an attorney to request a telephone interview. Examiners are not required to note or acknowledge requests for telephone calls or state reasons why such proposed telephone interviews would not be considered effective to advance prosecution. However, it is desirable for an attorney to call the examiner if the attorney feels the call will be beneficial to advance prosecution of the application. See MPEP § 713.01 and § 713.05.
Many attorneys have offices or representatives in the Washington area and it sometimes expedites business to interview them concerning an application. When the examiner believes the progress of the application would be advanced by an interview, he or she may call the attorney in the application by telephone and ask the attorney to come to the Office.
Registered attorneys or agents not of record in a patent application and acting in a representative capacity under 37 CFR 1.34(a) should not be telephoned for restriction requirements, approval of examiner's amendments, or given any information relative to such patent application by telephone unless the telephone number of such attorney or agent appears in a paper signed by the applicant or an attorney or agent of record.
Examiners should place all long distance telephone calls through the FTS (Federal Telecommunications System), even though collect calls may have been authorized by the attorney.
To facilitate any telephone calls that may become necessary, it is strongly recommended that amendments, letters of transmittal, and powers of attorney include the complete telephone number, with area code and extension, of the person with whom the interview should be held, preferably near the signature.
In new applications, the telephone number may appear on the letter of transmittal or in the power of attorney, oath, or declaration, next to the attorney's name and address.
SPECIFIC TELEPHONE INTERVIEW SITUATIONS
For restriction of invention, see MPEP § 812.01.
For multiplicity, see MPEP § 2173.05(n).
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