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707.13 Returned Office Action [R-2] - 700 Examination of Applications
707.13 Returned Office Action [R-2]
Office actions are sometimes returned to the Office because the United States Postal Service has not been able to deliver them. The examiner should use every reasonable means to ascertain the correct address and forward the action again, after stamping it "remailed" with the date thereof and redirecting it if there is any reason to believe that the action would reach applicant at such new address. If the Office action was addressed to an attorney, a letter may be written to the inventor or assignee informing him or her of the returned action. The period running against the application begins with the date of remailing. Ex parte Gourtoff, 1924 C.D. 153, 329 O.G. 536 (Comm'r Pat. 1924).
If the Office is not finally successful in delivering the letter, it is placed, with the envelope, in the file wrapper. >For an Image File Wrapper (IFW), a copy of the letter, and a copy of the envelope should be added to the IFW (see IFW Manual).< If the period dating from the remailing elapses with no communication from applicant, the application is abandoned.
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