USPTO Ending URAA Trasitional After Final Practice

The USPTO has reiterated that it is changing its final action practice for the Office action immediately following a submission under the URAA transitional limited examination procedure for any submission under 37 CFR 1.129(a) filed on or after June 8, 2005:

The next Office action following timely filingof a submission under 37 CFR 1.129(a) (and payment of the fee set forthin 37 CFR 1.17(r)) will be equivalent to the next Office action following a reply to a non-final Office action. Under existing second Office action final practice, such an Office action on the merits shall be made final, except where the examiner introduces a new ground of rejection that is neither necessitated by applicant's amendment of the claims nor based on
information submitted in an information disclosurestatement filed during the period set forth in 37 CFR 1.97(c) with thefee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(p). See MPEP 706.07(a). Any information disclosure statement submitted under 37 CFR 1.129(a) without the statement specified in 37 CFR 1.97(e) will be treated as though it had been filed within the time period set forth in 37 CFR1.97(c) with the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(p) (in view ofapplicant's payment of the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(r)).