What action can you take if the application has not issued and you feel obligated to disclose more information?

If you have an application that has not yet issued and you feel it is necessary to disclose additional information, the most appropriate action to take is to submit a Request for Continued Examination (RCE). An RCE allows the applicant to continue the examination process after a final rejection or to introduce new information or claims that were not previously considered. This is particularly relevant in situations where new prior art or significant new information has become available, and you want the examiner to review it in the context of your application.

Submitting an RCE is beneficial because it keeps the examination alive, allowing for further discussion and evaluation of the application based on the newly disclosed information, which could impact the patentability of the claims. This is a formal process that officially requests the patent office to reconsider the application in light of the newly presented details.

Other options, such as filing a petition for extension, withdrawing the application, or requesting a refund of the filing fee, do not facilitate the introduction of further information effectively. A petition for extension typically relates to time constraints rather than substantive examination of new information. Withdrawing the application would terminate the consideration and would not serve to disclose any new information. Finally, requesting a refund does not address the need to provide additional information for the application. Thus