2812.01 Filing Date of the Request [R-11.2013]
37 CFR 1.610 Content of request for supplemental examination.
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- (d) The filing date of a request for supplemental examination will not be granted if the request is not in compliance with §§ 1.605, 1.615, and this section, subject to the discretion of the Office. If the Office determines that the request, as originally submitted, is not entitled to a filing date, the patent owner will be so notified and will be given an opportunity to complete the request within a specified time. If the patent owner does not timely comply with the notice, the request for supplemental examination will not be granted a filing date and the fee for reexamination as set forth in § 1.20(k)(2) will be refunded. If the patent owner timely files a corrected request in response to the notice that properly addresses all of the defects set forth in the notice and that otherwise complies with all of the requirements of §§ 1.605, 1.615, and this section, the filing date of the supplemental examination request will be the receipt date of the corrected request.
The request must satisfy all the requirements of 37 CFR 1.605, 1.610 and 1.615, in order for a filing date to be granted. The Central Reexamination Unit will determine if a request for supplemental examination meets these requirements and will be granted a filing date. Even if the request is determined to be defective, the Office has the discretion under 37 CFR 1.610(d) to grant a filing date. However, the Office will not generally grant a filing date to a defective request unless the request contains only minor defects, such as minor formatting defects (e.g., improper margins, etc.).
If the request is not granted a filing date, the Office will mail a “Notice of Noncompliant Supplemental Examination Request (37 CFR 1.610(d))” , detailing the defects in the request. See MPEP § 2812.02.
If the request is granted a filing date, the Office will mail a “Notice of Supplemental Examination Request Filing Date” . The following is a copy of such a notice.
