1714.01(d) Timeliness and Diligence
Under 37 C.F.R. §2.66(a), a petition to revive an abandoned application must be filed: (1) within two months of the issuance date of the notice of abandonment; or (2) within two months of actual knowledge of the abandonment, if the applicant did not receive the notice of abandonment, and the applicant was diligent in checking the status of the application. A petition to revive an application as to goods/services/classes deleted (abandoned) for failure to respond to a partial refusal or requirement must be filed: (1) within two months of the issuance date of the examiner’s amendment setting forth the changes that will be made in the identification of goods/services; or (2) within two months of actual knowledge of the issuance of the examiner’s amendment, provided the application has not registered, if the applicant did not receive the examiner’s amendment and the applicant was diligent in checking the status of the application.
See TMEP §718.02(a) regarding partial abandonment, §1705.04 regarding petition timeliness, and TMEP §1705.05 regarding an applicant’s duty to exercise due diligence in monitoring the status of an application.
If a petition is untimely, or if the applicant was not diligent, the USPTO will deny the petition and refund the petition fee. To be considered diligent, the applicant must check the status of a pending application every six months between the filing date of the application and issuance of a registration. 37 C.F.R. §§2.66(a)(2) and 2.146(i)(1).
The applicant may file a petition to revive before the applicant receives the notice of abandonment.