1002.02(o) Petitions and Other Matters Decided by the Deputy Director of the USPTO [R-07.2015]

The Deputy Director of the USPTO has been delegated the authority to decide petitions to the Director of the USPTO from actions taken by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board for matters not otherwise delegated to the Chief Administrative Patent Judge, the Deputy Chief Administrative Patent Judge, a Vice Chief Administrative Patent Judge, or administrative patent judge(s). If there is a vacancy in the position of Deputy Director of the USPTO, decisions on these petitions will be signed by the Director of the USPTO.

Upon receipt of a petition, the entire file is to be forwarded to the Office of the Solicitor. The Solicitor is directed to promptly cause a review to be made of the petition and to prepare a draft decision for the Deputy Director or Director of the USPTO as may be appropriate. The Solicitor is authorized to take any interlocutory action, i.e., extending times for filing oppositions and seeking judicial review, obtaining agreement on facts from the parties, etc., as may be necessary to promptly dispose of the petition.