715.03(a)(2)(C) No Time Remaining in Response Period – Discretion to Provide Thirty Days to Complete Response
If the applicant has made a good-faith but incomplete attempt to comply and there is no time remaining or fewer than 30 days remaining in the six-month response period, the examining attorney has discretion under 37 C.F.R. §2.65(b) to issue an "Examiner’s Action Continuing a Final Refusal – 30 day Letter" that gives the applicant additional time to resolve the matters that remain outstanding. See TMEP §718.03(b). The Office action must not include a six-month response clause. This additional time should be granted only if the record indicates that the applicant can place the application in condition for approval by completing the response. Granting additional time to complete a response under 37 C.F.R. §2.65(b) does not extend the deadline for filing an appeal to the Board (or petition to the Director under 37 C.F.R. §2.63(b)(2), if appropriate). See 15 U.S.C. §1062(b); 37 C.F.R. §2.142(a).
If the examining attorney believes that an examiner's amendment (see TMEP §§707 et seq.) will immediately put the application in condition for publication or registration, the examining attorney should attempt to contact the applicant to obtain authorization to issue an examiner's amendment.