This chapter serves as a guide regarding the processing and filing of prior art citations and reexamination requests. The purpose for citing prior art in patent files is to inform the patent owner and the public in general that such patents or printed publications are in existence and should be considered when evaluating the validity of the patent claims in question. The examiner will consider these citations when examining the application. Citations of prior art for reexaminations are limited to prior art patents and printed publications, whereas the original prosecution performed by the examiner does not have this limitation.

You may expect several detailed questions concerning the material in this section. Details such as extensions of time, and time allowed for a response should be fully understood. Be sure to remember that only patents and printed publications are allowed in reexamination proceedings. Also recognize that any person may cite prior art. The exam will work these points in a few questions.

2202 Citation of prior art
Reexamination proceedings were recently expanded through the offering of an "inter partes" option. This option allows the third party initiating the reexamination to be involved with the proceedings. Chapter 2200 discusses the rules relating to ex parte proceedings (those between just the patent owner and the USPTO). A new chapter, Chapter 2600, discusses the rules for inter partes reexamination proceedings. Both of these chapters are primarily guides for examiners in reexamination proceedings. However, there is some information from both that is relevant to the patent bar exam.

Prior art in the form of patents or printed publications may be cited to the Office for placement into the patent files. The purpose for citing prior art in patent files is to inform the patent owner and the public in general that such patents or printed publications are in existence and should be considered when evaluating the validity of the patent claims in question.

35 U.S.C. 301 Citation of prior art.
Any person at any time may cite to the Office in writing prior art consisting of patents or printed publications which that person believes to have a bearing on the patentability of any claim of a particular patent. If the person explains in writing the pertinency and manner of applying such prior art to at least one claim of the patent, the citation of such prior art and the explanation thereof will become a part of the official file of the patent. At the written request of the person citing the prior art, his or her identity will be excluded from the patent file and kept confidential.

§ 1.501 Citation of prior art in patent files.
(a) At any time during the period of enforceability of a patent, any person may cite, to the Office in writing, prior art consisting of patents or printed publications which that person states to be pertinent and applicable to the patent and believes to have a bearing on the patentability of any claim of the patent. If the citation is made by the patent owner, the explanation of pertinency and applicability may include an explanation of how the claims differ from the prior art. Such citations shall be entered in the patent file except as set forth in §§ 1.502 and 1.902.
(b) If the person making the citation wishes his or her identity to be excluded from the patent file and kept confidential, the citation papers must be submitted without any identification of the person making the submission.
(c) Citation of patents or printed publications by the public in patent files should either:
(1) Reflect that a copy of the same has been mailed to the patent owner at the address as provided for in § 1.33(c); or in the event service is not possible
(2) Be filed with the Office in duplicate.

filing a citation of prior art places evidence of prior art in the patent file:
no fee is required
a copy must be served to patent owner
it says that no further action is necessary unless an application for reexamination is requested
it says that no fee is extracted
anyone may file a citation of prior art
a submitter may request that his or her identity be kept confidential

2203 Persons who may cite prior art
the patent owner, or any member of the public, may submit prior art citations of patents or printed publications to the Office

"any person" may be a corporate or governmental entity as well as any individual

at the written request of the person citing the prior art, his or her identity will be excluded from the patent file and kept confidential

2204 Time for filing prior art citation
a citation of prior art may be filed "at any time"
a. "any time" means anytime during the period of enforceability of a patent
b. the period of enforceability is the length of the patent term plus 6 years under the statute of limitations for bringing an infringement action

citations of prior art submitted after the date of any order to reexamine will not be entered into the patent file until the reexamination proceeding has been concluded

2205 Content of prior art citation
written prior art consisting of patents or printed publications may be used as a prior art citation

it requires an explanation from the person submitting the prior art as to why it is believed to be pertinent to the patent

prior art citations filed by persons other than the patent owner must indicate that a copy of the citation has been mailed to or served to the patent owner

2207 Entry of court decision in patent files
submissions of the following type will be accepted at any time:
copies of notices of suits and other proceedings involving the patent and copies of decisions or other court papers

2209 Ex parte reexamination
when the prosecution of a reexamination proceeding is terminated, a reexamination certificate is issued which indicates the status of all claims following the reexamination

unless prosecution is reopened by the Director, the reexamination proceeding is concluded by the issuance and publication of a reexamination certificate

a paper reexamination file is not available to the public:
public access to and copying of the reexamination file may be made from an electronic copy

any person may file a request for reexamination if a substantial new question of patentability is presented:
anyone including the patent owner for unexpired patents
anyone including the patent owner until six years after the patent has expired
no requests for reexamination will be accepted after this time period
a fee is required
it must be based on prior art in the form of either printed publications or patents
only patents and printed publications may be considered during a reexamination
the basic characteristics of a reexamination include that:
anyone can request one at any time during the period of enforceability of the
patent
cited prior art is limited to prior art patents or printed publications
a substantial new question of patentability must be presented
reexamination proceedings are ex parte in nature
a decision regarding the reexamination must be made no later than 3 months
from its filing
the scope of the claims cannot be enlarged by amendment
the reexamination and patent files are open to the public
bankruptcy will not stay a reexamination

there can never be a divisional reexamination

continuations are not permitted in a reexamination

a reexamination cannot be canceled once it has been filed

a final decision by a U.S. district court finding a patent to be valid will have no binding effect during reexamination since the PTO may still find the claims of the patent to be invalid

2210 Request for ex parte reexamination

35 U.S. C. 302 Request for reexamination.
Any person at any time may file a request for reexamination by the Office of any claim of a patent on the basis of any prior art cited under the provisions of section 301 of this title. The request must be in writing and must be accompanied by payment of a reexamination fee established by the Director pursuant to the provisions of section 41 of this title. The request must set forth the pertinency and manner of applying cited prior art to every claim for which reexamination is requested. Unless the requesting person is the owner of the patent, the Director promptly will send a copy of the request to the owner of record of the patent.

§1.510 Request for ex parte reexamination.
(a)Any person may, at any time during the period of enforceability of a patent, file a request for an exparte reexamination by the Office of any claim of the patent on the basis of prior art patents or printed publications cited under § 1..501.The request must be accompanied by the fee for requesting reexamination set in § 1.20((c)(1).
(b)Any request for reexamination must include the following parts:
(1)A statement pointing out each substantial new question of patentability based on prior patents and printed publications.
(2)An identification of every claim for which reexamination is requested, and a detailed explanation of the pertinency and manner of applying the cited prior art to every claim for which reexamination is requested. If appropriate the party requesting reexamination may also point out how claims distinguish over cited prior art.
(3)A copy of every patent or printed publication relied upon or referred to in paragraph (b)(l)and (2)of this section accompanied by an English language translation of all the necessary and pertinent parts of any nonEnglish language patent or printed publication. (4)A copy of the entire patent including the front face, drawings, and specification/claims (in double column format)for which reexamination is requested, and a copy of any disclaimer, certificate of correction, or reexamination certificate issued in the patent. All copies must have each page plainly written on only one side of a sheet of paper.
(5)A certification that a copy of the request filed by a person other than the patent owner has been served in its entirety on the patent owner at the address as provided for in § 1..33(c).The name and address of the party served must be indicated. If service was not possible, a duplicate copy must be supplied to the Office.
(c)If the request does not include the fee for requesting reexamination or all of the parts required by paragraph (b)of this section, the person identified as requesting reexamination will be so notified and given an opportunity to complete the request within a specified time. If the fee for requesting reexamination has been paid but the defect in the request is not corrected within the specified time, the determination whether or not to institute reexamination will be made on the request as it then exists. If the fee for requesting reexamination has not been paid, no determination will be made and the request will be placed in the patent file as a citation if it complies with the requirements of § 1.501(a).
(d)The filing date of the request is:
(1)The date on which the request including the entire fee for requesting reexamination is received in the Patent and Trademark Office; or
(2)The date on which the last portion of the fee for requesting reexamination is received. (e)A request filed by the patent owner may include a proposed amendment in accordance with §1.530.
(f)If a request is filed by an attorney or agent identifying another party on whose behalf the request is being filed, the attorney or agent must have a power of attorney from that party or be acting in a representative capacity pursuant to § 1.34((a).

a request for a reexamination includes:
a. a statement pointing out every new question of patentability
b. a detailed explanation and identification of every claim sought
c. a copy of every publication or patent referred to
d. a certification that the patent owner has been served with a copy of the request

although the fee can be paid later, the reexamination date is the date the complete fee is received

the fees for a reexamination proceeding include the fees for the request, for addition of claims, for a request for an extension of time, for any appeal, brief, and oral hearing
a. no fee is due for the issuance of a reexamination certificate

A reexamination may be requested by any member of the public when he or she has evidence that questions the patentability of a claim or claims in an issued patent.

2211 Time for requesting ex parte examinations
the period of enforceability (the time allowable for requesting a reexamination) is determined by adding 6 years to the date on which the patent expires
the patent expiration date for a utility patent is determined by taking into account the term of the patent, whether maintenance fees have been paid and whether any disclaimer was filed
any patent term extensions or adjustments are taken into account when determining the patent expiration date

2212 Persons who may file a request for ex parte reexamination
"any person" may file a request for reexamination of a patent

the difference between an ex parte and inter parte reexamination proceeding is that:
an ex parte reexamination can be initiated anonymously by a third party
however, if ex parte, then a third party cannot participate in anyway in the prosecution
an inter parte reexamination requires the disclosure of the real party in interest
in an inter parte reexamination, the patent owner has to serve any paper filed on a third party requester, who can file comments within 30 days

a third party who initiates a reexamination can still participate after a substantial new question is confirmed, but the real party of interest must be identified

a third party requester can appeal any decision favorable to the patent owner in a reexamination proceeding by appealing to the Board of Appeals or the CAFC

2214 Content of request for ex parte reexamination
a request for a reexamination must include a statement that should point out what the requester considers to be the substantial new question of patentability which would warrant the reexamination

a request should not be filed to resolve issues of patentability as to certain references brought up by the examiner
the request should never urge that those references present a substantial new question of patentability (since the examiner had them at his/her disposal during the examination )

a request for reexamination must include:
a copy of the patent for which reexamination is requested
must be submitted in double column format, on singlesided sheets only
a copy of any disclaimer, certificate of correction, or reexamination certificates issued in the patent

2215 Fee for requesting ex parte reexamination
the entire fee for filing a request must be paid

a refund will be made to the identified requester if any is ever found to be warranted

2216 Substantial new question of patentability
the request must include a statement that points out each new question of patentability based on prior patents and printed publications

if a substantial new question is brought forth, the patent owner will need to file a statement within two months

a substantial new question cannot be based upon:
prior art expressly relied upon by the examiner during the prosecution
prior art which was actually discussed

rules for establishing a substantial new question of patentability to obtain a reexamination:
an admission, per se, may not be the basis for establishing a substantial new question of patentability
however, an admission by the patent owner of record in the file or in a court record may be utilized in combination with a patent or printed publication
a prior art patent cannot be properly applied as a ground for reexamination if it is merely used as evidence of an alleged prior public use or sale, or an insufficiency of the disclosure
the prior art patent must be applied directly to claims under 35 U.S.C. 103 and/or an application portion of 35 U.S.C. 102 or relate to the application of other prior art patents or printed publications to claims on such grounds
any substantial new question of patentability must be based on prior patents and publications
the name and address of the party served must be indicated if the request is by a person other than the patent owner

2217 Statement in the request applying prior art
admissions by the patent owner as to any matter affecting patentability may be utilized to determine the scope and content of the prior art in conjunction with patents and printed publications

2221 Amendments included in request by patent owner
a patent owner may include a proposed amendment with his or her request

2223 Withdrawal of attorney or agent
a request by an attorney or agent of record to withdraw from a patent will normally be approved only if at least 30 days remain in any running period for a response

2224 Correspondence
all requests for ex parte reexaminations mailed to the PTO should be marked "Mail Stop Ex Parte Reexamination" to distinguish them from inter parte reexamination requests

a request for reexamination may not be sent by facsimile transmission

communications from the PTO to the patent owner will be directed to the first named, most recent attorney or agent of record in the patent file at the current address on the Office's register of patent attorneys and agents, or to the patent owner's address if no attorney or agent is of record

2225 Untimely paper filed prior to order
after the filing of a request, no other papers may be submitted except:
citations of patents or printed publications
another complete request
notifications of the existence of prior or concurrent proceedings

2228 Informal request for ex parte reexamination
if the fee has been paid, but the request does not contain all the elements called for, then the request will be considered informal

2230 Constructive notice to patent owner
if mailing efforts to correspond with the patent owner fail, the reexamination proceeding will proceed without any actual notice to the patent owner

2232 Public access
all reexamination files are normally open to inspection by the general public

the general public may view the entire content of a reexamination file via Public PAIR

2234 Entry of amendments
reexamination requests are to be assigned to an examiner different from the examiner(s) who examined the patent application

although amendments will be entered for the purposes of examination, the amendments are not legally effective until the reexamination certificate is issued

2240 Decision on request
the following types of amendments will not be considered when deciding requests:
amendments that have been presented with the request if by the patent owner
those which have been filed in a pending reexamination proceeding in which the certificate has not been issued
those which have been submitted in a reissue application on which no reissue patent has been issued

if a second or subsequent request for ex parte reexamination is filed (by any party) while a first ex parte reexamination is pending, then the second request must include new prior art that raises a substantial new question of patentability that is different from that raised in the pending first reexamination proceeding

2241 Time for deciding request
the determination of whether or not to reexamine must be made within 3 months following the filing date of a request

2242 Criteria for deciding request
if the prior art patents and printed publications raise a substantial question of patentability for at least one claim of the patent, then a substantial new question of patentability is present, unless that very same question of patentability has already been decided

there must be a substantial likelihood that a reasonable examiner would consider the prior art patent or printed publication important in deciding whether or not the claim is patentable

where a request for reexamination of a patent is made before the conclusion of an earlier filed reexamination proceeding pending for that patent, the substantial new question of patentability may be raised with respect to any new or amended claim which has been proposed in the pending reexamination proceeding

2246 Decision ordering reexamination
when granting a decision ordering a reexamination, where the question is raised, or where
it is not clear that a patent or printed publication predates the patent claims, a discussion should be provided as to why the patent or printed publication is in fact available against the patent claims

it is possible to petition to vacate the order granting the reexamination

in other words; to petition that there not be a reexamination

it is not petitionable when:
the examiner determines that a date of a reference is early enough such that the reference constitutes as prior art
the examiner determines that a reference is a printed publication

these matters can be argued by the patent owner and appealed during the examination phase of the reexamination proceeding

circumstances where 37 C.F.R. 1.181 (petition to the commissioner) can possibly be used to vacate the order granting the reexamination (to petition that there not be a reexamination) include when:
the reexamination order is not based on prior patents or printed publications
all the claims of the patent were held to be invalid by a Federal Court
the reexamination was ordered for the wrong patent
the reexamination was ordered based on a duplicate copy of the request
the reexamination order is based wholly on prior art previously considered in an earlier concluded examination of the patent

2258 Scope of ex parte reexamination

§ 1.552 Scope of reexamination in ex parte reexamination proceedings.
(a) Claims in an ex parte reexamination proceeding will be examined on the basis of patents or printed publications and, with respect to subject matter added or deleted in the reexamination proceeding, on the basis of the requirements of 35 U.S.C. 112.
(b) Claims in an ex party reexamination proceeding will not be permitted to enlarge the scope of the claims of the patent.
(c) Issues other than those indicated in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section will not be resolved in a reexamination proceeding. If such issues are raised by the patent owner or third party requester during a reexamination proceeding, the existence of such issues will be noted by the examiner in the next Office action, in which case the patent owner may consider the advisability of filing a reissue application to have such issues considered and resolved.

rejections made under 35 U.S.C. 102(f) or (g) based on the prior invention of another must be disclosed in a patent or printed publication

new claims may be added in a reexamination, but not broader claims

a rejection on the prior public use or sale, insufficiency of disclosure, etc., cannot be made even if the rejection relies on a prior patent or printed publication

prior art patents or printed publications must be applied under an appropriate portion of 35 U.S.C. 102 and/or 103 when making a rejection

the issue of double patenting is appropriate for consideration in a reexamination proceeding

admissions by the patent owners as to matters affecting patentability may be utilized in a reexamination proceeding

a third party may not submit admissions that were supposedly made by the patent owner outside of the record or the court

2259 Res judicata and collateral estoppel in reexaminations
since all claims finally held invalid by a Federal court, after all estoppels, will be withdrawn from consideration and not reexamined during a reexamination proceeding, a rejection on the grounds of res judicata will not be appropriate in reexamination

2263 Time for response
a shortened statutory period of 2 months will be set for responses to Office actions, except where the reexamination results from a court order or litigation, in which case the shortened statutory period will be set at 1 month

2265 Extension of time

§ 1.550 Conduct of ex parte reexamination proceedings. (c)
(c)The time for taking any action by a patent owner in an ex parte reexamination proceeding will be extended only for sufficient cause and for a reasonable time specified. Any request for such extension must be filed on or before the day on which action by the patent owner is due, but in no case will the mere filing of a request effect any extension. See § 1.304((a) for extensions of time for filing a notice of appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit or for commencing a civil action.

the provisions of 37 C.F.R. 1.136(a) and (b) are not applicable to reexamination proceedings under any circumstances
a request for an extension must be filed:
on or before the day on which action by the patent owner is due it must set forth sufficient reasons for the extension

in reexaminations, extensions are available for cause only as written in 37 C.F.R. 1.550, filing a response in a reexamination automatically extends the deadline by one month
a. the automatic one-month extension of time granted as a result of a timely first response to a final rejection does not apply once the Notice of Appeal has been filed
b. sufficient cause for an extension must be made

in no case will the mere filing of a request for extension of time automatically effect any extension
the patent owner is entitled to know the examiner's ruling on a timely response filed after final rejection before being required to file a notice of appeal

notification of the examiner's ruling should reach the patent owner with sufficient time for the patent owner to consider the ruling and act on it

2266 Responses

§ 1.550 Conduct of ex parte reexamination proceedings. (d & e)
(d) If the patent owner fails to file a timely and appropriate response to any Office action or any written statement of an interview required under § 1.560(b), the ex parte reexamination proceeding will be terminated, and the Director will proceed to issue a certificate under § 1.570 in accordance with the last action of the Office.
(e) If a response by the patent owner is not timely filed in the Office,
(1) The delay in filing such response may be excused if it is shown to the satisfaction of the Director that the delay was unavoidable; a petition to accept an unavoidably delayed response must be filed in compliance with § 1.137(a); or
(2) The response may nevertheless be accepted if the delay was unintentional; a petition to accept an unintentionally delayed response must be filed in compliance with § 1.137(b).

where a patent owner's submission contains a serious deficiency (like an omission) and the period for response has expired, the patent owner will be notified of the deficiency and be given a time period for the omitted response
the patent owner must supply the omission within this new deadline to avoid the termination of the proceeding
a response by the patent owner will not be considered fully responsive to a nonfinal Office action where:
a bona fide response to an examiner's nonfinal action is filed before the expiration of the permissible response period
in a reexamination proceeding, the patent owner cannot file a request for continued examination (RCE) under 37 C.F.R. 1.114
defects in the submission may include instances where:
the paper filed does not include proof of service
the paper filed is unsigned
the paper filed is signed by a person who is not of record
the amendment filed by the patent owner does not comply with 37 C.F.R. 1.530(d)

2272 After final practice
if a response to the final rejection is filed, the time period set in the final rejection is automatically extended by 1 month if the response is the first response after the final rejection
the period for response should be appropriately extended in the examiner's advisory action if there is insufficient time for the patent owner to consider the examiner's ruling and act on it

2273 Appeal in ex parte reexamination

§ 1.303 Civil action under 35 U.S.C. 145, 146, 306.
(a) Any applicant or any owner of a patent involved in an ex parte reexamination proceeding filed under §1.510 for a patent that issues from an original application filed in the United States before November 29, 1999, dissatisfied with the decision of the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, and any party to an interference dissatisfied with the decision of the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences may, instead of appealing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (§ 1.301), have remedy by civil action under 35 U.S.C. 145 or 146, as appropriate. Such civil action must be commenced within the time specified in § 1.304.
(b) If an applicant in an ex parte case or an owner of a patent involved in an ex parte reexamination proceeding filed under §1.510 for a patent that issues from an original application filed in the United States before November 29, 1999, has taken an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, he or she thereby waives his or her right to proceed under 35 U.S.C. 145.
(c) If any adverse party to an appeal taken to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit by a defeated party in an interference proceeding files notice with the Commissioner within twenty days after the filing of the defeated party's notice of appeal to the court (§ 1.302), that he or she elects to have all further proceedings conducted as provided in 35 U.S.C. 146, the notice of election must be served as provided in § 1.646.
(d) For an ex parte reexamination proceeding filed under § 1.510 for a patent that issues from an original application filed in the United States on or after November 29, 1999, and for an inter partes reexamination proceeding filed under § 1.913, no remedy by civil action under 35 U.S.C. 145 is available.

in an ex parte reexamination of a patent that issued from an original application filed on or after November 29, 1999, the patent owner may appeal to the Board only after a claim has been finally rejected
a patent owner that is dissatisfied with the rejection of his or her claims may appeal to the Board for review of the rejection by filing a Notice of Appeal within the required time
the period for filing the Notice of Appeal is the period set for response in the last Office action which is normally 2 months

37 C.F.R. 1.310 and 1.303(a):
a third party may not appeal either of these rules
a reexamination under 35 U.S.C. 302 is conducted ex part after it is instituted
third parties do not participate in ex parte reexaminations
it does not matter if a third party is dissatisfied with the decision of the Board, they cannot appeal

2274 Appeal brief
an applicant may file a petition requesting additional time (usually 1 month) he or she must give reasons for the request
failure to file the brief and/or the appeal fee within the permissible time will result in the
dismissal of the appeal
the reexamination will then be terminated and a Notice of Intent to Issue Reexamination Certificate will be issued indicating the status of the claims at the
time of appeal

2283 Multiple copending reexamination proceedings
The following rule explains the details of merging two ex parte reexamination proceedings.

§ .565 Concurrent office proceedings which include an ex parte reexamination proceeding. (c) If ex parte reexamination is ordered while a prior ex parte reexamination proceeding is pending and prosecution in the prior ex parte reexamination proceeding has not been terminated, the ex parte reexamination proceedings will be consolidated and result in the issuance of a single certificate under § 1.570. For merger of inter partes reexamination proceedings, see § 1.989(a). For merger of ex parte reexamination and inter partes reexamination proceedings, see § 1.989(b).

2285 Copending reexamination and reissue proceedings
The following rule explains the details of merging a reissue and a reexamination proceeding.

§ 1.565 Concurrent office proceedings which include an ex parte reexamination proceeding. (d)If a reissue application and an ex parte reexamination proceeding on which an order pursuant to §1.525 has been mailed are pending concurrently on a patent, a decision will normally be made to merge the two proceedings or to suspend one of the two proceedings. Where merger of a reissue application and an ex parse reexamination proceeding is ordered, the merged examination will be conducted in accordance with §§1.171 through 1.179,and the patent owner will be required to place and maintain the same claims in the reissue application and the ex parte reexamination proceeding during the pendency of the merged proceeding. The examiner 's actions and responses by the patent owner in a merged proceeding will apply to both the reissue application and the ex parte reexamination proceeding and be physically entered into both files. Any ex parte reexamination proceeding merged with a reissue application shall be terminated by the grant of the reissued patent. For merger of a reissue application and an inter partes reexamination, see §1.991.

Where the merger decision indicates that an Office action will follow, the merged proceeding is returned to the examiner immediately after the decision for appropriate action

in contrast to when a CPA of the reissue application is filed, if an RCE is filed, the reissue application is not considered to be expressly abandoned and the merged proceeding will continue

2286 Ex parte reexamination and litigation proceedings

§ 1.565 Concurrent office proceedings which include an ex parte reexamination proceeding.
(b)If a patent in the process of ex parte reexamination is or becomes involved in litigation, the Director shall determine whether or not to suspend the reexamination. See §1.987 for inter partes reexamination proceedings.

the final decision by a U.S. District Court finding a patent to be valid will have no binding effect during reexamination since the PTO may still find the claims of the patent to be invalid

the PTO may discover new art and find the claims unpatentable as that art would raise a substantial new question of patentability

a patentee could file a prior art statement under 35 U.S.C. 301 or disclose prior art in a reissue application if the original patent (through error without deceptive intent) is defective or claims more or less than what should be claimed

the preponderance of evidence standard does not change in reexamination proceedings

2292 Distribution of certificate
After the reexamination proceeding is terminated and the certificate has been waived, any member of the public may obtain a copy of the certificate by ordering a copy of the patent.

reexamination limits:
anyone may file for the reexamination of a patent by filing the proper request as many times as they please provided they pay the required fee each time
however, harassment of the applicant will not be tolerated, in situations
where this is clearly the case, the request will be denied
must provide the requestor of the reexamination a substantial new question of patentability for each request he or she files

correspondence:
a request for reexamination will be sent to the address the correspondence was sent to during the application prosecution
any assignments made will not receive the correspondence unless they send in a change of correspondence address for the patent file

Interviews:

§ 1.560 Interviews in ex parte reexamination proceedings.
(b) In every instance of an interview with an examiner in an ex parte reexamination proceeding, a complete written statement of the reasons presented at the interview as warranting favorable action must be filed by the patent owner. An interview does not remove the necessity for response to Office actions as specified in § 1.111. Patent owner's response to an outstanding Office action after the interview does not remove the necessity for filing the written statement. The written statement must be filed as a separate part of a response to an Office action outstanding at the time of the interview, or as a separate paper within one month from the date of the interview, whichever is later.

third party requesters may not attend reexamination interviews
after every interview with an examiner in an ex parte reexamination proceeding, the patent owner must complete a written statement providing the reasons presented at the interview which warranted favorable action:
this must be done even if the patent owner replies to an outstanding Office action
it must be filed as a separate part of a response to an outstanding Office action at the time of the interview, or as a separate paper within one month from the date of the interview, whichever is later