MPEP § 2812 — MPEP § 2812
Current through: 2022-07-01

2812-Initial Processing of a Request for Supplemental Examination 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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 Manual of Patent Examining Procedure 

 Chapter 2800 

 Section 2812 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 2812 Initial Processing of a Request for Supplemental
 Examination [R-11.2013]
 

 All processing of requests for supplemental examination and
 of other papers filed in a supplemental examination proceeding and in any resulting
 ex parte reexamination proceeding will be performed by the staff of
 the Central Reexamination Unit.
 

 
 2812.01 Filing Date of the Request [R-11.2013]

 
 37 CFR 1.610 Content of request for supplemental examination. 

 *****

 
 (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.
 

 

 

 
 2812.02 Noncompliant Request for Supplemental Examination [R-11.2013]

 
 37 CFR 1.610 Content of request for supplemental examination. 

 *****

 
 (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
 

 
 

 If the Central Reexamination Unit (CRU) determines that
 the request, as originally submitted, does not satisfy all of the requirements of
 37 CFR
 1.605 , 1.610 and 1.615 ,
 and all other applicable rules, and is not entitled to a filing date, the CRU will mail
 a Notice of Noncompliant Supplemental Examination Request ( 37 CFR
 1.610(d) ) to the patent owner. The notice will be mailed to the
 patent owner at the correspondence address of record in the file of the patent for which
 supplemental examination is requested. See MPEP §
 2805 . The notice will specify the defects found in the
 request, and provide a specified time, generally 15 days, within which a corrected
 request may be timely filed. If further explanation is needed, an attachment to the
 notice will be provided specifically explaining why the request was non-compliant with
 the filing date requirements.
 

 

 
 2812.03 Corrected Request [R-01.2024]

 The patent owner has one
 opportunity to file a corrected request in response to a Notice of
 Noncompliant Supplemental Examination Request ( 37 CFR
 1.610(d) ). 
 

 To be proper , a corrected request must properly address all of
 the defects set forth in the notice, and must otherwise comply
 with all of the requirements of 37 CFR 1.605 , 1.610 
 and 1.615 , and all other applicable rules. The corrected request must
 include all of the components that the patent owner intends to include as part of the
 request, such as, for example, the request itself, copies of each of the items of
 information, a copy of the patent for which supplemental examination is requested, any
 transmittal sheet, a submission in compliance with 37 CFR
 3.73(c) , etc. 
 

 The patent owner must submit a complete, corrected
 request that will replace the originally-filed request. In other words, the patent owner
 must not submit a “supplemental” or corrected portion of the request, because the Office
 intends to expunge the entire originally-filed request once a corrected request is
 received. For this reason, a corrected request must contain all of the required
 information without reliance on any defective originally-filed request. 
 

 If all applicable fees have already been paid, these fees
 do not have to be resubmitted with the corrected request. Also, as discussed previously,
 even if the request (either the originally-filed request or the corrected request) is
 determined to be defective, the Office has the discretion under 37 CFR
 1.610(d) to grant a filing date. See MPEP §
 2812.01 . For example, if the Office determines that a
 corrected request only contains one or more defects of minor character, the Office may,
 in its sole discretion, enter the defective corrected request, correct the defect(s)
 sua sponte, and/or request a submission from the patent owner in
 order to correct the defect(s). As a specific example, if the defect in the corrected
 request is limited to the omission of a copy of the patent for which supplemental
 examination is requested, and the copy of the patent was submitted with the
 originally-filed request, the Office may exercise its option to sua
 sponte accept the original submission of the copy of the patent as part of
 the corrected request.
 

 The corrected request may be submitted using the USPTO
 patent electronic filing system, or, if filed in paper form, may be addressed to the
 Central Reexamination Unit (CRU), Attn: “Mail Stop Supplemental Examination.” See
 MPEP §
 2806 . A corrected request must not be
 facsimile-transmitted . Any corrected request may be followed up by a
 telephone call to the Central Reexamination Unit at (571) 272-7705 to ensure
 receipt.
 

 If a proper corrected request is timely filed, the filing
 date of the supplemental examination request will be the receipt date of the corrected
 request. The Office will mail a Notice of Supplemental Examination Request Filing Date
 to the patent owner. A copy of such a notice is provided in MPEP §
 2812.01 .
 

 

 
 2812.04 Termination Due to Defective/Improper Request or
 Corrected Request [R-11.2013]
 

 If, in response to a Notice of Noncompliant Supplemental
 Examination Request ( 37 CFR 1.610(d) ), a proper corrected
 request is not filed or is not timely received, or if the corrected request is
 defective/improper (for example, if the corrected request does not address all of the
 defects set forth in the notice, or introduces a new defect which was not present in the
 original request), the request will not be granted a filing date, and the processing of
 the request will be terminated. 
 

 A single failure to comply with the Notice of Noncompliant
 Supplemental Examination Request ( 37 CFR 1.610(d) ) will ordinarily
 result in the request not being granted a filing date. 37 CFR
 1.610(d) provides that 
 "[i]f the patent owner
 does not timely comply with the notice, the request for supplemental examination will
 not be granted a filing date."
 
 
 Thus, absent extraordinary
 circumstances, the patent owner will be given only one 
 opportunity to correct the original request. 
 

 When terminating the request, the Office will mail a
 Notice of Termination, which will notify the patent owner of the defects found in the
 corrected request, or of the lack of receipt, or timely receipt, of a corrected request.
 The fee for reexamination as set forth in 37 CFR 1.20(k)(2) , if paid, will be
 refunded. The control number assigned to the request will be retained, but the request
 will not be granted a filing date, and will not be further considered. The request
 papers will not be returned, but will remain unavailable to the public. See
 MPEP §
 2813 , subsection II. 
 

 If, after receiving a Notice of Termination, the patent
 owner still desires to request supplemental examination of the patent, the patent owner
 may file a new request for supplemental examination, which is complete and includes the
 missing information identified by the Office in the notice.
 

 

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 2801-Introduction 

 2802-Supplemental Examination 

 2803-Persons Who May File a Request for Supplemental Examination 
 2803.01-Inquiries from Persons Other Than the Patent Owner 

 2803.02-Public Access 

 
 

 2804-Representative of Patent Owner 
 2804.01-Withdrawal of Attorney or Agent 

 
 

 2805-Correspondence with Patent Owner; Patent Owner Address 

 2806-How to File Papers in a Supplemental Examination Proceeding and in Any Resulting Ex Parte Reexamination Proceeding 

 2807-Format of Papers Filed in a Supplemental Examination Proceeding 

 2808-Time for Requesting Supplemental Examination 

 2809-Items of Information 
 2809.01-Information Relating to the Correction of Factual Information 

 
 

 2810-Fees Due on Filing a Supplemental Examination Request 
 2810.01-Document Size Fees 

 
 

 2811-Content of Request for Supplemental Examination 
 2811.01 -Detailed Explanation of the Relevance and Manner of Applying Each Item of Information 

 2811.02 -Optional Content 

 
 

 2812-Initial Processing of a Request for Supplemental Examination 
 2812.01 -Filing Date of the Request 

 2812.02-Noncompliant Request for Supplemental Examination 

 2812.03 -Corrected Request 

 2812.04 -Termination Due to Defective/Improper Request or Corrected Request 

 
 

 2813-Handling of Papers, Other Than a Request, in a Supplemental Examination Proceeding 
 2813.01 -Amendments 

 
 

 2814-Interviews Are Prohibited 

 2815-Time for Deciding Request 

 2816-Determination on the Request 
 2816.01 -Claims Considered in Making the Determination 

 2816.02 -Criteria for Making the Determination 

 2816.03 -Content of the Determination 

 2816.04 -Effect of the Determination 

 
 

 2817-Conclusion of Supplemental Examination 
 2817.01 -Processing and Electronic Issuance of Supplemental Examination Certificate 

 
 

 2818-Procedure after Conclusion of Supplemental Examination 
 2818.01 -After Determination Finding a Substantial New Question of Patentability 

 2818.02 -After Determination Finding No Substantial New Question of Patentability 

 
 

 2819-Discovery of Possible Material Fraud 

 2820-Submission of Notification of Other Prior or Concurrent Post-Patent Office Proceedings 

 2821-Multiple Post-Patent Office Proceedings 

 2822-Assignment of the Supplemental Examination Proceeding 

 2823-Differences Between an Ex Parte Reexamination Proceeding Ordered Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 257 and an Ex Parte Reexamination Proceeding
 Ordered Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 302 

 

 

 
 

 
 
 

 
 

 

 
 
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 Last Modified: 
 
 03/09/2026 20:50:50