Question:

What are the three major issues that must be completed during the examination before an interference may be called?

Answer:

The three major issues that must be completed during the examination are:

* All pending claims must be allowed, finally rejected, or canceled

* All petitions must be decided

* All appeals from a final rejection must be completed

Chapter Details:

The answer to this question can be found in chapter 2300 of the MPEP. This chapter covers Interference Proceedings.

The answer is from the 9th Edition, Revision 07.2015. Depending on future changes to the MPEP, the question and answer may or may not be applicable in later Editions or revisions.

Section Summary:

This question and answer comes from section 2303 of the MPEP.  The following is a brief summary of section 2303.

2303 Completion of Examination

The examination should be completed on all other issues before an interference is called, which means all pending claims must be allowed, finally rejected, or canceled, all petitions must be decided, and all appeals from the final rejection must be completed. Further details on the completion of the examination are discussed in this section.