What if They Reject My Patent?


One of the highlights of the U.S. Patent System is that patent applications can be continued and even changed during the examination through several iterations. In a first round of examination, the Patent Office will issue a first action, typically a rejection. After the applicant responds, with or without an amendment, the application is either allowed or it is finally rejected. This final rejection, however, is less than final. We can now continue the examination by filing an RCE, a request for continued examination, which restarts the examination process, hopefully with an allowance, or once more with the same sequence of a nonfinal action followed by a final action. Again, however, The rejection is all but final. Start again. Rinse and repeat. If you have more questions, we suggest consulting with an experienced intellectual property attorney.