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Question:
The three-month period in 37 CFR 1.704(b) applies to the Office notices and letters issued as part of the pre-examination processing of an application (except a Notice of Omitted Items in a Nonprovisional Application as discussed above). List two examples of these notices.
Answer:
These notices include:
- A Notice of Incomplete Nonprovisional Application (except as to any period prior to the filing date ultimately accorded to the application);
- A Notice to File Missing Parts of Non-Provisional Application;
- An Informational Notice to Applicant;
- A Notice to File Corrected Application Papers Filing Date Granted; or
- A Notice to Comply with Requirements for Patent Applications Containing Nucleotide and/or Amino Acid Sequence Disclosures.
Chapter Details:
The answer to this question can be found in chapter 2700 of the MPEP. This chapter covers Patent Terms, Adjustments, and Extensions.
The answer is from the 9th Edition, Revision 07.2022, Published February 2023. Depending on future changes to the MPEP, the question and answer may or may not be applicable in later Editions or revisions.
Section Summary:
This question and answer comes from section 2732 of the MPEP. The following is a brief summary of section 2732.
2732 Reduction of Period of Adjustment of Patent Term
This section covers the reduction of the period of adjustment of the patent term. Essentially, the period of adjustment shall be reduced by a period equal to the period of time during which the applicant failed to engage in reasonable efforts to conclude prosecution (i.e., processing or examination) of an application. This section further covers the circumstances that constitute a failure of an applicant to engage in reasonable efforts to conclude processing or examination of the application. Many other details are discussed.