When patent prosecution ends in no claims allowed, applicants have the opportunity to file Requests for Continued Examination (RCEs). Of all new utility, plant, and reissue filings received at the USPTO within the last 12 months, nearly 30% of those applications were not actually “new”, but RCEs filed by applicants in already pending cases. These statistics indicate RCEs have become a common vehicle for entering rejected claims back into prosecution.
