MPEP § 1443 — MPEP § 1443
Current through: 2022-07-01

1443-Initial Examiner Review 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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 Manual of Patent Examining Procedure 

 Chapter 1400 

 Section 1443 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 1443 Initial Examiner Review [R-07.2022]

 As part of an examiner’s preparation for the examination of a reissue
 application, the Examiner Reissue Guide and Checklist should be consulted for basic
 guidance and suggestions for handling the prosecution. The Technology Center (TC) Training
 Quality Assurance Specialists (TQASs) or Supervisory Patent Reexamination Specialist (SPRS)
 should make the Guide and Checklist available at the time a reissue application is docketed
 to an examiner.
 

 On initial receipt of a reissue application, the examiner should inspect
 the submission under 37
 CFR 1.172 as to documentary evidence of a chain of title from the
 original owner to the assignee to determine whether the consent requirement of
 37 CFR
 1.172 has been met. The examiner will compare the consent and
 documentary evidence of ownership; the assignee indicated by the documentary evidence must
 be the same assignee which signed the consent. Also, the person who signs the consent for
 the assignee and the person who signs the submission of evidence of ownership for the
 assignee must both be persons having authority to do so. See also MPEP §§ 324 and
 325 . If an assignment document is not attached with the
 37 CFR
 3.73 statement, but rather the reel and frame number where the
 assignment document is recorded in the USPTO is referenced in the 37 CFR 3.73 
 statement, it will be presumed that the assignment recorded in the USPTO supports the
 statement identifying the assignee. It will not be necessary for the examiner to obtain a
 copy of the recorded assignment document. 
 

 Where the application is assigned, and there is no submission under
 37 CFR
 1.172 as to documentary evidence in the application, the examiner
 should require the submission using form paragraph 14.16 . Once the submission
 under 37 CFR
 1.172 as to documentary evidence is received, it must be compared
 with the consent to determine whether the assignee indicated by the documentary evidence is
 the same assignee which signed the consent. See MPEP §
 1410.02 for further discussion as to the required consent and
 documentary evidence.
 

 Where there is a statement of record by the applicant that the application
 is not assigned, and Office records do not cast doubt on the statement, there should be no
 submission under 37 CFR
 1.172 as to documentary evidence of ownership in the application, and
 none should be required by the examiner.
 

 The filing of all reissue applications, except for continued prosecution
 applications (CPAs) (only available for design applications) filed under 37 CFR 1.53(d) , must
 be announced in the Official Gazette. Accordingly, for any reissue
 application other than a CPA, the examiner should determine if the filing of the reissue
 application has been announced in the Official Gazette as provided in
 37 CFR
 1.11(b) . The contents entry on the Patent Data Portal Content History
 should be checked for the presence of 
 "NRE"
 
 
 and 
 "NOTICE OF REISSUE
 PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL GAZETTE "
 
 
 entries in the contents, and the date of publication. If the filing
 of the reissue application has not been announced in the Official
 Gazette, jurisdiction over the reissue application should be returned to the
 Office of Patent Application Processing (Special Processing) to handle the announcement.
 The examiner should not further act on the reissue until 2 months after announcement of the
 filing of the reissue has appeared in the Official Gazette. See
 MPEP §
 1440 .
 

 The examiner should determine if there is concurrent litigation, and if
 so, the status thereof ( MPEP
 § 1442.01 ), and whether the reissue file history has been
 appropriately marked. Note MPEP § 1404 .
 

 The examiner should determine if a protest has been filed, and if so, it
 should be handled as set forth in MPEP § 1901.06 . For a discussion of
 protests under 37 CFR
 1.291 in reissue applications, see MPEP § 1441.01 .
 

 The examiner should determine whether the patent is involved in an
 interference, and if so, should refer to MPEP § 1449.01 before taking any action on
 the reissue application.
 

 The examiner should verify that all certificate of correction changes have
 been properly incorporated into the reissue application. See MPEP § 1411.01 .
 

 The examiner should verify that the patent on which the reissue
 application is based has not expired, either because its term has run or because required
 maintenance fees have not been paid. Once a patent has expired, the Director of the USPTO
 no longer has the authority under 35 U.S.C. 251 to reissue the patent.
 See In re Morgan, 990 F.2d 1230, 26 USPQ2d 1392 (Fed. Cir. 1993). See
 also MPEP §
 1415.01 . 
 

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 1400.01-Introduction 

 1401-Reissue 

 1402-Grounds for Filing 

 1403-Diligence in Filing 

 1404-Submission of Papers Where Reissue Patent Is in Litigation 

 1405-Reissue and Patent Term 

 1406-Citation and Consideration of References Cited in Original Patent 

 1407-1409-[Reserved] 

 1410-Content of Reissue Application 
 1410.01-Reissue Applicant and Inventor's Oath or Declaration 

 1410.02-Assignee Consent to the Reissue 

 
 

 1411-Form of Specification 
 1411.01-Certificate of Correction or Disclaimer in Original Patent 

 1411.02-New Matter 

 
 

 1412-Content of Claims 
 1412.01-Reissue Claims Must Be for Same General Invention 

 1412.02-Recapture of Canceled Subject Matter 

 1412.03-Broadening Reissue Claims 

 1412.04-Correction of Inventorship By Reissue 

 1412.05-Correction of Inventorship in a Broadening Reissue Application 

 
 

 1413-Drawings 

 1414-Content of Reissue Oath/Declaration 
 1414.01-Reissue Oath or Declaration in Reissue Application Filed On or After September 16, 2012 

 1414.02-Reissue Oath or Declaration in Reissue Application Filed Before September 16, 2012 

 1414.03-Supplemental Reissue Oath/Declaration 

 
 

 1415-Reissue Application and Issue Fees 
 1415.01-Maintenance Fees on the Original Patent 

 
 

 1416-No Physical Surrender of Original Patent 

 1417-Claim for Priority Under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d) 

 1418-Notification of Prior/Concurrent Proceedings and Decisions Thereon, and of Information Known To Be Material to Patentability 

 1419-1429-[Reserved] 

 1430-Reissue Files Open to the Public and, Notice of Filing Reissue Announced in, Official Gazette 

 1431-1439-[Reserved] 

 1440-Examination of Reissue Application 

 1441-Two-Month Delay Period 
 1441.01-Protest and Pre-issuance Submission in Reissue Applications 

 
 

 1442-Special Status 
 1442.01-Litigation-Related or PTAB Trial-Related Reissues 

 1442.02-Concurrent Litigation or Trial Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board 

 1442.03-Litigation Stayed 

 1442.04-Litigation Involving Patent 

 1442.05-Court Ordered Filing of Reissue Application 

 
 

 1443-Initial Examiner Review 

 1444-Review of Reissue Oath/Declaration 

 1445-Reissue Application Examined in Same Manner as Original Application 

 1446-1447-[Reserved] 

 1448-Fraud, Inequitable Conduct, or Duty of Disclosure Issues 

 1449-Protest Filed in Reissue Where Patent Is in Interference or Contested Case 
 1449.01-Concurrent Office Proceedings 

 1449.02-Interference in Reissue 

 1449.03-Reissue Application in Derivation Proceeding 

 
 

 1450-Restriction and Election of Species Made in Reissue Application 

 1451-Divisional Reissue Applications; Continuation Reissue Applications Where the Parent is Pending 

 1452-Request for Continued Examination of Reissue Application 

 1453-Amendments to Reissue Applications 

 1454-Appeal Brief 

 1455-Allowance and Issue 

 1456-Reissue Review 

 1457-Design Reissue Applications and Patents 

 1458-1459-[Reserved] 

 1460-Effect of Reissue 

 1461-1469-[Reserved] 

 1470-Public Access to Reissue Applications 

 1471-1479-[Reserved] 

 1480-Certificates of Correction — Office Mistake 
 1480.01-Expedited Issuance of Certificates of Correction - Error Attributable to Office 

 
 

 1481-Certificates of Correction - Applicant’s Mistake 
 1481.01-Correction of Assignees’ Names 

 1481.02-Correction of Named Inventor 

 1481.03-Correction of 35 U.S.C. 119 and 35 U.S.C. 120 Benefits 

 
 

 1482-1484-[Reserved] 

 1485-Handling of Request for Certificates of Correction 

 1486-1489-[Reserved] 

 1490-Disclaimers 

 

 

 
 

 
 
 

 
 

 

 
 
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 Last Modified: 
 
 03/09/2026 20:50:35