Patent Law Updates | New Statutes, Regulations and Rules

January 31, 2012

USPTO Publishes Proposed Rules for Supplemental Examination and to Revise Reexamination Fees

Changes To Implement the Supplemental Examination Provisions of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act and To Revise Reexamination
USPTO No. 12-07, 37 CFR Part 1, Docket No. PTO–P–2011–0075, RIN 0651–AC69, 1/25/2012

USPTO Publishes Proposed Rules for Supplemental Examination and to Revise Reexamination Fees

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The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has proposed rules of practice in patent cases to implement the supplemental examination provisions of the America Invents Act.

The USPTO has also proposed to adjust the fee for filing a request for ex parte reexamination and to set a fee for petitions filed in ex parte and inter partes reexamination proceedings to more accurately reflect the cost of these processes.

“The supplemental examination provisions will permit a patent owner to request supplemental examination of a patent by the USPTO to consider, reconsider, or correct information believed to be relevant to the patent,” said Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO David Kappos. “These provisions could assist the patent owner in addressing certain challenges to the enforceability of the patent during litigation.”

Publication of the proposed rules for supplemental examination and reexamination fees in the Federal Register begins a sixty-day public comment period during which time the public may provide written input to the agency about the proposals.

View a PDF of the rule