MPEP § 2803 — MPEP § 2803
Current through: 2022-07-01

2803-Persons Who May File a Request for Supplemental Examination 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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 Manual of Patent Examining Procedure 

 Chapter 2800 

 Section 2803 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 2803 Persons Who May File a Request for Supplemental
 Examination [R-01.2024]
 

 
 37 CFR 1.601 Filing of papers in supplemental examination. 

 
 (a) A request for supplemental examination of a patent
 must be filed by the owner(s) of the entire right, title, and interest in the
 patent.
 

 
 *****

 

 Only a patent owner may file a request for supplemental
 examination of a patent. See 35 U.S.C. 257(a) and 37 CFR
 1.601(a) . The statute does not authorize the Office to accept a
 request for supplemental examination from a party who is not the patent owner. For example,
 a party who merely states that it is an exclusive licensee or that it is a person with
 sufficient proprietary interest under 35 U.S.C. 118 is not eligible to file a
 request for supplemental examination. 
 

 The request must be filed by the owner(s) of the entire
 right, title, and interest in the patent. A request for supplemental examination must
 include an identification of the owner(s) of the entire right, title, and interest in the
 patent requested to be examined, and a submission by the patent owner in compliance with
 37 CFR
 3.73(c) establishing the entirety of the ownership in the patent
 requested to be examined. See 37 CFR 1.610(b)(9) . This is because the
 terms of a patent may be changed (e.g., by cancellation or amendment of the claims) during
 any ex parte reexamination proceeding that may be ordered as a result of
 the supplemental examination proceeding, and this change must be binding on all parties
 having an ownership interest in the patent. Furthermore, the Office has consistently
 required that all parties having an interest in a patent are deemed “a patent owner” as a
 composite entity and must act together in proceedings before the Office. See
 MPEP §§
 301 and 324 or 325 . This
 is also consistent with ex parte reexamination practice, which requires
 a patent owner requester of an ex parte reexamination to comply with the
 provisions of 37 CFR
 3.71 and 37 CFR 3.73 for establishing an
 assignee’s right to take action when submitting a power of attorney. See
 MPEP §
 2222 .
 

 The Office may, under rare circumstances, permit less than
 all of the owners to file a request for supplemental examination if a grantable petition
 under 37 CFR
 1.183 requesting waiver of the provisions of 37 CFR 3.71 and
 37 CFR
 3.73(c) is filed. For example, such a petition may be filed in the
 case of a deceased or legally incapacitated joint owner, or where the
 joint owner refuses to join or cannot be found after diligent effort.
 See MPEP §
 409 et seq. In the case of a deceased joint owner, the heirs,
 administrators, or executors of the joint owner may be permitted to join in filing the
 request for supplemental examination. If one of the owners is legally incapacitated, the
 legal representative of the joint owner may be permitted to join in filing the request for
 supplemental examination. If a joint owner refuses to sign or cannot be found or reached
 after diligent effort, the remaining owners must include, in the petition, proof of the
 pertinent facts, a showing that such action is necessary to preserve the rights of the
 parties or to prevent irreparable damage, and the last known address of all of the joint
 owners. Finally, if an owner of all or a portion of the entire right, title, and interest
 of the patent is an organization that is dissolved, the Office may require that a
 determination of the ownership of the patent be obtained from a court of competent
 jurisdiction prior to accepting and according a filing date to a request for supplemental
 examination. 
 

 A legal representative of the patent owner may file a
 request for supplemental examination on behalf of the patent owner. See
 MPEP §
 2804 . 
 

 
 2803.01 Inquiries from Persons Other Than the Patent
 Owner [R-11.2013]
 

 
 37 CFR 1.601 Filing of papers in supplemental examination. 

 *****

 
 (b) Any party other than the patent owner
 ( i.e., any third party) is prohibited from filing papers
 or otherwise participating in any manner in a supplemental examination
 proceeding.
 

 
 *****

 

 37 CFR
 1.601(b) prohibits third parties from filing papers or otherwise
 participating in any manner in a supplemental examination proceeding. In addition,
 because only the patent owner can file the request for supplemental examination,
 third-party participation is prohibited in any ex parte reexamination
 ordered under 35 U.S.C. 257 and 37 CFR
 1.625 , pursuant to ex parte reexamination
 practice.
 

 Office personnel, including both the examining and the
 technical support staff, should not enter into a discussion with, or answer inquiries
 from, third parties (i.e., parties who are not the patent owner) regarding a
 supplemental examination proceeding. A party who is not the patent owner should be
 referred to the Central Reexamination Unit (CRU) Supervisory Patent Reexamination
 Specialist (SPRS) in the art unit of the assigned examiner. Only questions on
 strictly general procedural matters regarding supplemental examination, i.e., not
 directed to any specific supplemental examination proceeding, may be discussed by the
 CRU SPRS with that party .
 

 Employees of the Office, particularly CRU examiners who
 have conducted a supplemental examination proceeding that has been concluded, should not
 discuss or answer inquiries from any person outside the Office as to whether a certain
 reference or other particular evidence was considered during the proceeding, and whether
 that reference, or other evidence, would have been determined to raise a substantial new
 question of patentability, had it been considered during the proceeding. Patent
 practitioners (or other members of the public) must not address improper inquiries to
 members of the patent examining corps and to the Office as a whole. Inquiries from
 members of the public relating to the matters discussed above must, of necessity, be
 refused and this refusal should not be considered discourteous or an expression of
 opinion by the Office as to the validity, patentability, or enforceability of the
 patent.
 

 The definitions set forth in 37 CFR 104.1 and
 the exceptions in 37
 CFR 104.21 are applicable to this section.
 

 

 
 2803.02 Public Access [R-07.2022]

 The Office does not intend to provide the public with
 access, by Patent Center or otherwise, to a request for supplemental examination, or to
 any papers or information submitted as part of or accompanying the request, until the
 request is granted a filing date by the Office. 
 

 After a filing date has been accorded the request,
 supplemental examination files are open to inspection by the general public by way of
 Patent Center which is available on the USPTO's Internet site, www.uspto.gov . See MPEP § 2232 (access
 guidance). Copies of non-patent literature (NPL) cited in the proceeding, however, will
 not be available via Patent Center and must be ordered as set forth below. 
 

 If a copy of the supplemental examination file or NPL
 cited in the proceeding is desired, it may be ordered from the Patent and Trademark Copy
 Fulfillment Branch (PTCFB) of the Public Records Division (PRD) upon payment of the
 applicable fee after the request for supplemental examination has been granted a filing
 date. 
 

 Orders for such copies must indicate the control number
 of the proceeding. It is preferred that orders be made through the PTCFB's Certified
 Copy Center storefront at https://certifiedcopycenter.uspto.gov . Alternatively, orders may be
 addressed to:
 

 Mail Stop Patent and Trademark Copy Fulfillment
 Branch
Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, VA 22313-1450

 In addition, after the request for supplemental
 examination has been granted a filing date, a request for a copy of the file may also be
 sent via email to: dsd@uspto.gov, and the fee for the copy may be charged to a credit
 card or deposit account. 
 

 

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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 20:49:41