Non-final office action

U.S. Patent Law
A non-final office action is an Office action made by the examiner where the patent applicant is entitled to reply and request reconsideration or further examination, with or without making an amendment.

On taking up an application for examination or a patent in a reexamination proceeding, the examiner is required to make a thorough study of the application and of the available prior art relating to the subject matter of the claimed invention. This examination must be complete with respect to:


 * compliance of the application or patent under reexamination with the applicable statutes and rules
 * the patentability of the invention as claimed, and
 * matters of form, unless otherwise indicated.

U.S. Trademark Law
A non-final office action is an Office action letter that raises new issues and usually is the first phase of the examination process. An examining attorney will issue a non-final Office action after reviewing the application for the first time. If a new issue arises after the applicant responds to the first non-final Office action, the examining attorney will issue another non-final Office action that sets forth the new issue(s) and continues any that remain outstanding. Applicants must respond to non-final Office action letters within 6 months from the date they are issued to avoid abandonment of the application.