How can amendments filed in appeal be submitted to reopen prosecution?

Filing an amendment in an appeal can be effectively achieved by submitting a Request for Continued Examination (RCE) along with the corresponding RCE fee. The RCE allows the applicant to reopen prosecution after an appeal has been filed, provided the application is still pending. The RCE facilitates further examination of the application by the patent examiner, enabling the applicant to amend claims, introduce new evidence, or make other changes to address issues raised by the examiner in the most recent Office action.

In contrast, a notice of appeal does not permit amendments; rather, it formally initiates the appeal process without further opportunity for examination by the examiner. An informal request also lacks the formal structure provided by an RCE and may not be recognized or acted upon by the patent office in the same way. Lastly, simply withdrawing all pending claims does not inherently reopen prosecution; it could result in abandonment of the application rather than resuming examination. Therefore, the most suitable approach for reopening prosecution during appeal is clearly through the filing of an RCE and the accompanying fee.