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<p class="MsoNormal">Listmates:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I am dealing with some denials of Petitions for Express Abandonments to Obtain Refunds. The denials came from someone in the office of data management and I think their denials were made in error and the reasons for denial misguided.
They are denying our requests because the fees were paid more than two years ago. I understand that this is the rule for general refunds, but I don’t ever recall this being the case for refund requests that went with Express Abandonment requests. Why should
applicants be punished for the Office’s delay? <rhetorical> If a search has not been conducted and examination has not begun after two years, the applicant should not be penalized for it when it comes to requesting a refund.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I have made several calls and sent emails to the USPTO to try to discuss the matter and have received no useful follow-up. Petitions were fantastic and told me they agreed with our position but told me to call OPLA, which I did. They told
me they did not know why petitions had me call them and told me they would look into the matter. That was two months ago and I have not heard from them since (despite repeated follow ups – in writing). For reasons I would rather not go into here, I don’t
want simply request reconsideration but I do know that would have been an option, had we acted quickly enough and not relied upon the USPTO to provide clarification or to cure the dismissals.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In my email to the USPTO, I said ….<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">***<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Fujitsu Infinity Pro Italic"">Thank you for talking with me the week before last. Attached is a file containing the dismissals of our express-abandonment related refund requests.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Fujitsu Infinity Pro Italic""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Fujitsu Infinity Pro Italic"">It is our belief that these requests were improperly dismissed. The Office seems to be taking the position that the fees are not able to be refunded because the charges
were debited more than two years prior to the request. It appears that the denial is based on an erroneous interpretation of 37 CFR 1.26 and the refund request should be properly viewed through the provisions of 37 CFR 1.138.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Fujitsu Infinity Pro Italic""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Fujitsu Infinity Pro Italic"">The Office referenced …<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Fujitsu Infinity Pro Italic""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Fujitsu Infinity Pro Italic"">37 CFR § 1.26 - Refunds.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Fujitsu Infinity Pro Italic""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="enumxml">(b)</span> Any request for refund must be filed within two years from the date the fee was paid, except as otherwise provided in this paragraph or in
<a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/37/1.28#a">§ 1.28(a)</a>. If the Office charges a deposit account by an amount other than an amount specifically indicated in an authorization (<a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/37/1.25#b">§ 1.25(b)</a>),
any request for refund based upon such charge must be filed within two years from the date of the deposit account statement indicating such charge, and include a copy of that deposit account statement. The time periods set forth in this paragraph are not extendable.<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Fujitsu Infinity Pro Italic""><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Fujitsu Infinity Pro Italic""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Fujitsu Infinity Pro Italic"">However, the CFR 1.138 does not appear to set forth this limitation when it comes to refund requests due to express abandonment. The requirements under 1.138 state
that the request must be filed before examination has been made of the application. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Fujitsu Infinity Pro Italic""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="enumxml">(d)</span> An <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/definitions/index.php?width=840&height=800&iframe=true&def_id=08e72d765bb8bde1a92a362f0bc1d642&term_occur=999&term_src=Title:37:Chapter:I:Subchapter:A:Part:1:Subpart:B:Subjgrp:90:1.138">
applicant</a> seeking to abandon an application filed under <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/35/111">
35 U.S.C. 111(a)</a> and § 1.53(b) on or after December 8, 2004, to obtain a refund of the search fee and excess claims fee paid in the application, must submit a declaration of express abandonment by way of a petition under this paragraph before an examination
has been made of the application. The date indicated on any certificate of mailing or transmission under § 1.8 will not be taken into account in determining whether a petition under § 1.138(d) was filed before an examination has been made of the application.
If a request for refund of the search fee and excess claims fee paid in the application is not filed with the declaration of express abandonment under this paragraph or within two months from the date on which the declaration of express abandonment under this
paragraph was filed, the Office may retain the entire search fee and excess claims fee paid in the application. This two-month period is not extendable. If a petition and declaration of express abandonment under this paragraph are not filed before an examination
has been made of the application, the Office will not refund any part of the search fee and excess claims fee paid in the application except as provided in § 1.26.<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Fujitsu Infinity Pro Italic""><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Fujitsu Infinity Pro Italic""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Fujitsu Infinity Pro Italic"">The two year limitation, according to 1.138, seems to apply to applications in which examination has already commenced, which is not the case with the requests we
made. “</span>If a petition and declaration of express abandonment under this paragraph
<b><u>are not filed before an examination has been made of the application</u></b>, the Office will not refund any part of the search fee and excess claims fee paid in the application except as provided in § 1.26.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Fujitsu Infinity Pro Italic"">As such, the refund provision in 1.26 does not appear to be applicable to the requests for refund made with a petition for express abandonment -- 1.138 sets
<b>examination</b> as the test for timeliness, not the two year period contained in 1.26. The Office has taken active measures to balance harm to applicants due to Office delay and placing the two year limitation on the express-abandonment related refunds
is inconsistent with that practice.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">***<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ligatures:none">Does anyone on the list have any thoughts on this? I have sent this to a few people from the list but no one has gotten back to me so maybe I (we) are way off base on this. As I said, Petitions agreed
with our position, but did not know what they could do or how to seek reconsideration when the person sending the dismissal is in the office of data management and seems to just be checking boxes and not understanding the underlying regulations.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ligatures:none">Thank you!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Fujitsu Infinity Pro Italic";color:black;mso-ligatures:none">Pamela Cei Brisky</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Fujitsu Infinity Pro Italic";color:black;mso-ligatures:none">
<span lang="en-BB"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="en-BB" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Fujitsu Infinity Pro Italic";color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Fujitsu Infinity Pro Italic";color:#595959;mso-ligatures:none">Senior Patent Paralegal, Docketing Manager<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Fujitsu Infinity Pro Italic";color:black;mso-ligatures:none">Fujitsu North America, Inc</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Fujitsu Infinity Pro Italic";color:black;mso-ligatures:none">.</span><span lang="en-BB" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Fujitsu Infinity Pro Italic";color:black;mso-ligatures:none">|
</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Fujitsu Infinity Pro Italic";color:black;mso-ligatures:none">Fujitsu Intellectual Property Center
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Fujitsu Infinity Pro Italic";color:#595959;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Fujitsu Infinity Pro Italic";color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><a href="mailto:pbrisky@fujitsu.com"><span style="color:black">pbrisky@fujitsu.com</span></a></span><span lang="en-BB" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Fujitsu Infinity Pro Italic";color:black;mso-ligatures:none">
|</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Fujitsu Infinity Pro Italic";color:black;mso-ligatures:none">571-216-2112<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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