On Mon, Nov 21, 2011 at 2:08 PM, Jed Rothwell <jedrothw...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I wrote: > > >> Where does the patent office claim that, pls? >>> >> >> I wouldn't know. Good luck finding it in their rules. Anyway, that's what >> they told Jim Patterson. Maybe they changed the rule subsequently. > > > Ah ha. Here's something about it: > > "If the applicant is more than 65 years of age or in a state of health > such that they might not be available to assist in prosecution of the > application under the normal examination procedures, a Petition to Make > Special may be filed without a fee." > > Here's the patent office version: http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/documents/0700_708_02.htm It seems if you're old or in poor health, they will *accelerate* the evaluation of the application. It says nothing about waiving of rules or any other preferential treatment. I think by law, all patent applications have to be initially treated equally. I would not want to be a patent examiner! I can well imagine some of the weird and silly things they have to look at and write about.
