Question:

Who does the duty of disclosure in reexamination proceedings apply to?

Answer:

The duty of disclosure in reexamination proceedings applies to the patent owner; to each attorney or agent who represents the patent owner, and to every other individual who is substantively involved on behalf of the patent owner.

Chapter Details:

The answer to this question can be found in chapter 2200 of the MPEP. This chapter covers Citation of Prior Art and Ex Parte Reexamination of Patents.

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 2280 of the MPEP.  The following is a brief summary of section 2280.

2280 Information Material to Patentability in Reexamination Proceeding Filed under 35 U.S.C. 302

A prima facie case of unpatentability of a claim pending in a reexamination proceeding is established when the information compels a conclusion that a claim is unpatentable under the preponderance of evidence, burden-of-proof standard, giving each term in the claim its broadest reasonable construction consistent with the specification, and before any consideration is given to evidence which may be submitted in an attempt to establish a contrary conclusion of patentability. This section covers further information material to patentability in reexamination proceedings.