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2210 Request for - 2200 Citation of Prior Art and Ex Parte Reexamination of Patents
2210 Request for >Ex Parte< Reexamination [R-2]
35 U.S.C. 302 Request for reexamination.
Any person at any time may file a request for reexamination by the Office of any claim of a patent on the basis of any prior art cited under the provisions of section 301 of this title. The request must be in writing and must be accompanied by payment of a reexamination fee established by the Director pursuant to the provisions of section 41 of this title. The request must set forth the pertinency and manner of applying cited prior art to every claim for which reexamination is requested. Unless the requesting person is the owner of the patent, the Director promptly will send a copy of the request to the owner of record of the patent.
37 CFR 1.510 Request for ex parte reexamination.
(a) Any person may, at any time during the period of enforceability of a patent, file a request for an ex parte reexamination by the Office of any claim of the patent on the basis of prior art patents or printed publications cited under § 1.501. The request must be accompanied by the fee for requesting reexamination set in § 1.20(c)(1).
(b) Any request for reexamination must include the following parts:
(1) A statement pointing out each substantial new question of patentability based on prior patents and printed publications.
(2) An identification of every claim for which reexamination is requested, and a detailed explanation of the pertinency and manner of applying the cited prior art to every claim for which reexamination is requested. If appropriate the party requesting reexamination may also point out how claims distinguish over cited prior art.
(3) A copy of every patent or printed publication relied upon or referred to in paragraph (b)(1) and (2) of this section accompanied by an English language translation of all the necessary and pertinent parts of any non-English language patent or printed publication.
(4) A copy of the entire patent including the front face, drawings, and specification/claims (in double column format) for which reexamination is requested, and a copy of any disclaimer, certificate of correction, or reexamination certificate issued in the patent. All copies must have each page plainly written on only one side of a sheet of paper.
(5) A certification that a copy of the request filed by a person other than the patent owner has been served in its entirety on the patent owner at the address as provided for in § 1.33(c). The name and address of the party served must be indicated. If service was not possible, a duplicate copy must be supplied to the Office.
(c) If the request does not include the fee for requesting reexamination or all of the parts required by paragraph (b) of this section, the person identified as requesting reexamination will be so notified and given an opportunity to complete the request within a specified time. If the fee for requesting reexamination has been paid but the defect in the request is not corrected within the specified time, the determination whether or not to institute reexamination will be made on the request as it then exists. If the fee for requesting reexamination has not been paid, no determination will be made and the request will be placed in the patent file as a citation if it complies with the requirements of § 1.501(a).
(d) The filing date of the request is:
(1) The date on which the request including the entire fee for requesting reexamination is received in the Patent and Trademark Office; or
(2) The date on which the last portion of the fee for requesting reexamination is received.
(e) A request filed by the patent owner may include a proposed amendment in accordance with § 1.530.
(f) If a request is filed by an attorney or agent identifying another party on whose behalf the request is being filed, the attorney or agent must have a power of attorney from that party or be acting in a representative capacity pursuant to § 1.34(a).
Any person, at any time during the period of enforceability of a patent, may file a request for >ex parte< reexamination by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office of any claim of the patent based on prior art patents or printed publications. The request must include the elements set forth in 37 CFR 1.510(b) (see MPEP § 2214) and must be accompanied by the fee as set forth in 37 CFR 1.20(c)(1). No attempt will be made to maintain a requester's name in confidence.
After the request for reexamination, including the entire fee for requesting reexamination, is received in the Office, no abandonment, withdrawal, or striking of the request is possible, regardless of who requests the same. In some limited circumstances, such as after a >final< court decision where all of the claims are finally held invalid, a reexamination order may be vacated, see MPEP § 2286.
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