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Increased Delays Expected When Filing RCEs

By Melanie Reichenberger and Carlo Cotrone

At present, when a patent applicant files a Request for Continued Examination (“RCE”) during U.S. patent prosecution, the applicant can expect further action from the examiner within about the same amount of time it takes to receive a follow-up action to a regular, non-final office action, typically a few months. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) recently announced that it would implement internal changes to RCE docketing on Nov. 15, 2009, and will implement internal changes to the examiner count system by early 2010. These changes may significantly delay further examination of an application in which a RCE is filed, and consequently the ultimate issuance of a patent. To mitigate the effects of these changes, patent applicants may need to alter patent prosecution strategies going forward.

Change in RCE Docketing

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