United States Patent and Trademark Office OG Notices: 25 May 2004

                  Revised Procedures for Express Abandonments

   To facilitate processing of petitions for express abandonment
to avoid publication under 37 CFR 1.138(c), and other letters of
express abandonment under 37 CFR 1.138, the United States Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO) is establishing a Mail Stop Express
Abandonment. Applicants are advised to file any petition for express
abandonment to avoid publication under 37 CFR 1.138(c), as well as any
other letter of express abandonment under 37 CFR 1.138, by:

   (1) Mailing the petition or letter to: Mail Stop Express
Abandonment, Commissioner for Patents, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria,
Virginia, 22313-1450;

   (2) Transmitting the petition or letter by facsimile directly to
the Pre-Grant Publication Division at 703-305-8568; or

   (3) Delivering the petition or letter by hand to the Pre-Grant
Publication Division at 2231 Crystal Drive, Room 905, Arlington, VA
22202, during business hours (8:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M.).

   Applicants seeking to expressly abandon an application for the
purpose of avoiding publication are strongly advised to file
a petition under 37 CFR 1.138(c) (accompanied by the petition fee set
forth in 37 CFR 1.17(h)). If an applicant files a letter of express
abandonment under 37 CFR 1.138 without a petition under 37 CFR
1.138(c), the application will be abandoned regardless of whether the
application can be withdrawn from the publication process. Therefore,
the application might be both published and abandoned.

   Since even a petition under 37 CFR 1.138(c) will not stop
publication of the application unless it is recognized and acted on by
the Pre-Grant Publication Division in sufficient time to avoid
publication, the applicant should submit a petition for express
abandonment under 37 CFR 1.138(c) by facsimile or hand-delivery if
projected publication date is within three months of the date when the
petition will be filed. Furthermore, an applicant who files a petition
under 37 CFR 1.138(c) or a letter of express abandonment under 37 CFR
1.138 not in accordance with this notice will bear the risk that the
Pre-Grant Publication Division will not recognize the abandonment in
sufficient time to avoid publication. For information on this notice,
contact the Pre-Grant Publication Division at (703) 605-4283.

April 27, 2004                                             STEPHEN G. KUNIN
                                                    Deputy Commissioner for
                                                  Patent Examination Policy