§ 132. — Notice of rejection; reexamination.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 35USC132]
TITLE 35--PATENTS
PART II--PATENTABILITY OF INVENTIONS AND GRANT OF PATENTS
CHAPTER 12--EXAMINATION OF APPLICATION
Sec. 132. Notice of rejection; reexamination
(a) Whenever, on examination, any claim for a patent is rejected, or
any objection or requirement made, the Director shall notify the
applicant thereof, stating the reasons for such rejection, or objection
or requirement, together with such information and references as may be
useful in judging of the propriety of continuing the prosecution of his
application; and if after receiving such notice, the applicant persists
in his claim for a patent, with or without amendment, the application
shall be reexamined. No amendment shall introduce new matter into the
disclosure of the invention.
(b) The Director shall prescribe regulations to provide for the
continued examination of applications for patent at the request of the
applicant. The Director may establish appropriate fees for such
continued examination and shall provide a 50 percent reduction in such
fees for small entities that qualify for reduced fees under section
41(h)(1) of this title.
(July 19, 1952, ch. 950, 66 Stat. 801; Pub. L. 106-113, div. B,
Sec. 1000(a)(9) [title IV, Secs. 4403, 4732(a)(10)(A)], Nov. 29, 1999,
113 Stat. 1536, 1501A-560, 1501A-582; Pub. L. 107-273, div. C, title
III, Sec. 13206(b)(1)(B), Nov. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 1906.)
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on Title 35, U.S.C., 1946 ed., Sec. 51 (R.S. 4903, amended
Aug. 5, 1939, ch. 452, Sec. 1, 53 Stat. 1213).
The first paragraph of the corresponding section of existing statute
is revised in language and amplified to incorporate present practice;
the second paragraph of the existing statute is placed in section 135.
The last sentence relating to new matter is added but represents no
departure from present practice.
Amendments
2002--Pub. L. 107-273 made technical correction to directory
language of Pub. L. 106-113, Sec. 1000(a)(9) [title IV,
Sec. 4732(a)(10)(A)]. See 1999 Amendment note below.
1999--Pub. L. 106-113, Sec. 1000(a)(9) [title IV,
Sec. 4732(a)(10)(A)], as amended by Pub. L. 107-273, substituted
``Director'' for ``Commissioner''.
Pub. L. 106-113, Sec. 1000(a)(9) [title IV, Sec. 4403], designated
existing provisions as subsec. (a) and added subsec. (b).
Effective Date of 1999 Amendment
Pub. L. 106-113, div. B, Sec. 1000(a)(9) [title IV, Sec. 4405(b)],
Nov. 29, 1999, 113 Stat. 1536, 1501A-560, provided that: ``The
amendments made by section 4403 [amending this section]--
``(1) shall take effect on the date that is 6 months after the
date of the enactment of this Act [Nov. 29, 1999], and shall apply
to all applications filed under section 111(a) of title 35, United
States Code, on or after June 8, 1995, and all applications
complying with section 371 of title 35, United States Code, that
resulted from international applications filed on or after June 8,
1995; and
``(2) do not apply to applications for design patents under
chapter 16 of title 35, United States Code.''
Amendment by section 1000(a)(9) [title IV, Sec. 4732(a)(10)(A)] of
Pub. L. 106-113 effective 4 months after Nov. 29, 1999, see section
1000(a)(9) [title IV, Sec. 4731] of Pub. L. 106-113, set out as a note
under section 1 of this title.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 41, 154, 305, 314 of this
title.
