# Since April 2026, owners get a say before the reexam order.

For ex parte reexamination requests filed on or after April 5, 2026, the patent owner may file a paper of up to 30 pages, within 30 days of service, on whether the request raises a substantial new question. Two familiar objections are off-limits in it.

Sources checked October 16, 2026

**30 / 30** pages, and days from service of the request, for the owner’s pre-order paper. Neither limit can be extended.

## Before you read

In the new pre-order paper, can the patent owner argue that § 325(d) bars the request?

- Yes, that’s the point of it
- No: the notice excludes § 325(d) arguments
- Only with a petition

No. The notice excludes § 325(d) arguments, and arguments that the cited teaching isn’t new.

## Thirty days, thirty pages

Until this year, a patent owner usually had nothing to say before the Office decided whether to order reexamination. A 2026 notice changed that. Pre-order notice, 1545 O.G. 217

A substantial new question is the threshold for any reexamination: the request must raise an important patentability question the Office hasn’t already considered. MPEP § 2242 The Office waived two rules to allow the paper, citing the recent increased volume of requests. Pre-order notice

## Two objections that don’t belong

The paper has limits on what it can argue. Some of the strongest objections an owner has must wait for another filing.

The Office still assesses newness itself. The exclusions control where the owner can argue it. Pre-order notice, §§ II.A, II.C–D, III

## What to do

## The takeaway

Before spending the first 30 days drafting, decide which objection belongs in which paper.

## Related stories

- [Anonymous reexam after an IPR decision now needs a statement.](https://postgrantproceeding.com/insights/t04-anonymous-reexam-after-an-ipr-decision-now-needs-a-statement)
- [The same statute opened one door and closed eighteen.](https://postgrantproceeding.com/insights/d19-the-same-statute-opened-one-door-and-closed-eighteen)
- [Ex parte reexam requests about doubled in FY2026.](https://postgrantproceeding.com/insights/t01-ex-parte-reexam-requests-about-doubled-in-fy2026)

## Sources

- S39. USPTO, Pre-order Procedure Regarding Substantial New Question Determination in Ex Parte Reexamination Proceedings, 1545 Off. Gaz. Pat. Office 217 (Apr. 28, 2026; applicable to requests filed on or after Apr. 5, 2026). https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/og-preorder-snq-apr2026.pdf
- S13. Federal patent statutes, 35 U.S.C. §§ 253(a), 303(a), 311–315, 317 and 321–325. Reproduced in MPEP Appendix L (currency date stated by the appendix: Jan. 31, 2024). https://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/mpep-9015-appx-l.html
- S38. USPTO, Manual of Patent Examining Procedure § 2242, Criteria for Deciding Request Filed Under 35 U.S.C. § 302. https://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/s2242.html

Precedential decisions bind the Board within their designated scope. Informative decisions show the Office’s reasoning but do not bind the Board. Court opinions are cited for what they decided; later history was checked on the date shown above.

General information about published decisions, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.