MPEP § 1002.02(b) — Petitions and Requests Decided by the Deputy Commissioner Who Oversees the Office of Petitions or Assigned Staff in the Office of Petitions, the Office of Patent Legal Administration and the MPEP Staff Office

Ninth Edition, Revision 01.2024 · last revised R-01.2024

In general, petitions under this section should be directed to “Mail Stop Petition, Commissioner for Patents, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450,” except as otherwise provided. For example, applications for patent term extension under 35 U.S.C. 156 should be directed to Mail Stop Hatch-Waxman PTE and petitions for retroactive foreign filing license under 37 CFR 5.25 should be directed to Mail Stop L&R.

1. Petitions to revive an abandoned national, nonprovisional or provisional patent application on the basis of unintentional delay, 37 CFR 1.137 and MPEP § 711.03(c).

2. Petitions under 37 CFR 1.183 for waiver or suspension of rules not otherwise provided for.

3. Petitions to invoke the supervisory authority of the Director of the USPTO under 37 CFR 1.181 in matters not otherwise provided for.

4. Petitions for an unintentionally delayed foreign priority claim, 37 CFR 1.55(e) and MPEP § 214.02.

5. Petitions to restore the right of foreign priority, 37 CFR 1.55(c) and MPEP § 213.03, subsection III.

6. Petitions for late filing of certified copy of foreign application, 37 CFR 1.55(f) or (g), as applicable, and MPEP § 215.02.

7. Petitions for an unintentionally delayed domestic benefit claim, 37 CFR 1.78(c) and (e) and MPEP § 211.04.

8. Petitions to restore the benefit of a provisional application, 37 CFR 1.78(b) and MPEP § 211.01(a), subsection II.

9. Petitions to defer issuance of patents, 37 CFR 1.314 and MPEP § 1306.01.

10. Petitions for express abandonment of patent applications after payment of the issue fee, 37 CFR 1.313(c)(3), MPEP § 711.01, subsection I, and MPEP § 1308.

11. Petitions relating to issuance of patents not otherwise provided for, for example, issuance of a patent in the name of an assignee under 37 CFR 3.81.

12. Petitions for the withdrawal of attorney or agent of record under 37 CFR 1.36 in patent applications involved in proceedings before Deputy Commissioner for Patents who oversees the Office of Petitions or assigned staff in the Office of Petitions, the Office of Patent Legal Administration, or the MPEP staff office and in applications pending in a Technology Center.

13. Petitions under 37 CFR 1.182 in matters not otherwise provided for in the regulations.

14. Requests from the examiner for the rehearing of a decision of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, MPEP § 1214.04.

15. Petitions to review refusal to accept and record maintenance fee payment filed prior to the expiration of a patent, 37 CFR 1.377 and MPEP § 2580.

16. Petitions to accept an unintentionally delayed payment of maintenance fee in an expired patent, 37 CFR 1.378 and MPEP § 2590.

17. Petitions to review a decision of Technology Center Director or Central Reexamination Unit Director, 37 CFR 1.181.

18. Petitions to withdraw a holding of abandonment not otherwise delegated, 37 CFR 1.181.

19. Requests to order a Director initiated reexamination proceeding, 37 CFR 1.520.

20. Petitions to accept late papers in a reexamination proceeding based upon unintentional delay, 35 U.S.C. 41(a)(7).

21. Petitions for access to patent applications under 37 CFR 1.14 (or pre-AIA 37 CFR 1.14) with the exception of applications involved in or related to a proceeding before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, MPEP §§ 103, 104, and  1901.05.

22. Petitions relating to reexamination proceedings and/or reissue proceedings under 37 CFR 1.182 and 1.183.

23. Petitions relating to merger of reexamination and reissue proceedings.

24. Applications relating to Hatch-Waxman patent term extension, 37 CFR 1.710 - 1.791 and petitions relating to Hatch-Waxman patent term extension, 37 CFR 1.182 or 1.183.

25. Petitions under 37 CFR 1.181 to review a determination of the length of the patent term extension under 37 CFR 1.701 for original applications, other than designs, filed on or after June 8, 1995 and before May 29, 2000, MPEP § 2720.

26. Requests for reconsideration of the patent term adjustment indicated in the notice of allowance or in the patent, under 37 CFR 1.705, MPEP § 2734, subsection I.

27. Requests for reinstatement of the period of patent term adjustment reduced pursuant to 37 CFR 1.704(b) under 37 CFR 1.705(c), MPEP § 2734, subsection II.

28. Petitions relating to the filing date of patent applications under 37 CFR 1.53, MPEP § 506.02.

29. Petitions to convert a nonprovisional application filed under 37 CFR 1.53(b) to a provisional application under 37 CFR 1.53(c) where the nonprovisional application is before the Office of Petitions or the Office of Patent Legal Administration.

30. Requests to convert a provisional application filed under 37 CFR 1.53(c) to a nonprovisional application under 37 CFR 1.53(b) where the provisional application is before the Office of Petitions or the Office of Patent Legal Administration.

31. Petitions for extensions of time under 37 CFR 1.136(b) in applications before the Office of Petitions or the Office of Patent Legal Administration (MPEP § 710.02(e)).

32. Petitions, or requests at the initiative of the USPTO by someone other than a Technology Center Director, to withdraw patent applications from issue under 37 CFR 1.313(a) before payment of the issue fee.

33. Petitions, or requests at the initiative of the USPTO by someone other than a Technology Center Director, to withdraw patent applications from issue after payment of the issue fee under 37 CFR 1.313(b), MPEP § 1308, subsection II.

34. Petitions to withdraw patent applications from issue after payment of the issue fee under 37 CFR 1.313(c), MPEP § 1308, subsection I.B.

35. Petitions to expunge papers or assignment information from patent applications under 37 CFR 1.59 which were not submitted under MPEP § 724.02 or as part of an information disclosure statement (IDS).

36. Petitions to expunge recorded assignment information, 37 CFR 1.182 and MPEP § 323.01(d).

37. Petitions to Make Special based on inventor’s health, 37 CFR 1.102(c)(1) and MPEP § 708.02, subsection I.

38. Petitions to Make Special based on inventor’s age, 37 CFR 1.102(c)(1) and MPEP § 708.02, subsection II.

39. Requests for prioritized examination under 37 CFR 1.102(e), MPEP § 708.02(b).

40. Requests for participation in a Patent Prosecution Highway program (www.uspto.gov/PPH).

41. Requests for participation in the Law School Pilot Program.

42. Petitions for retroactive foreign filing license under 37 CFR 5.25, MPEP § 140, subsection II.

43. Petitions to show proprietary interest sufficient to make application on behalf of and as agent for the inventor under 37 CFR 1.46 (applicable in applications filed on or after September 16, 2012), MPEP § 409.05, subsection II.

44. Petitions to accept an oath or declaration without a joint inventor’s signature, pre-AIA 37 CFR 1.47(a) (applicable in applications filed before September 16, 2012), MPEP § 409.03(a).

45. Petitions to accept an oath or declaration from a person to whom an inventor has assigned or agreed in writing to assign the invention, or who otherwise shows sufficient proprietary interest in the matter justifying such action, pre-AIA 37 CFR 1.47(b) (applicable in applications filed before September 16, 2012 where none of the inventors are available to sign), MPEP § 409.03(b).

46. Requests for Corrected Patent Application Publication under 37 CFR 1.221(b), MPEP § 1130, subsection II.

47. Petitions to change entity status, including the payment of additional fees, 37 CFR 1.28 and 1.29.

48. Return of papers containing discourteous remarks. See MPEP §§ 714.19 and 714.25.

49. Petitions to issue a corrected patent, 37 CFR 1.322(b).

50. Requests for a certificate of correction that affects related U.S. application data or foreign priority data.