Ex Officio Examination in the Reexamination Procedure

Under the current Guidelines for Patent Examination, the reexamination procedure is a relief procedure initiated by the patent applicant who is dissatisfied with the decision of rejection of the application by the Patent Office; meanwhile, it is a continuation of the examination and granting procedure for a patent application. This dual nature determines that the Patent Reexamination Board normally restricts its examination to the grounds and evidence on which the decision of rejection is based, and is not obliged to undertake a comprehensive examination on the patent application.