human: An application is filed before September 8, 2000, which did not comply with former rule 1.27, but which does comply with amended 37 CFR 1.27. The application contained a general authorization to charge fees. The large entity fees were charged by the Offic
assistant: Small entity status is automatically established as of September 8, 2000. To obtain a refund, applicant must file a refund request in accordance with 37 CFR 1.28(a). 37 CFR 1.28(a) was amended (effective November 7, 2000) to provide for refund requests within three months of the date of payment of the full fee (instead of the former two-month period). The date of payment of the fee is the date of receipt in the Office as defined by 37 CFR 1.6. The date of receipt of an authorization to charge fees starts the period for refunds under 37 CFR 1.28(a). Therefore, applicant must explicitly timely request a refund within three months of the submission of the authorization to charge fees if the request for refund is filed on or after November 7, 2000. Any request for refund under 37 CFR 1.28(a) filed before November 7, 2000, must be filed within two months of the date of payment of the full fee in accordance with the version of 37 CFR 1.28(a) in effect at that time.