Slide 28 of 44
Notes:
New grounds of rejection in examiner answers were unfair because the examiner was essentially issuing a first action or new action on appeal.
This eliminates a point of contention between examiners and attorneys and the inevitable controversy over whether a reply brief or an amendment was properly limited to the new grounds of rejection.
When the examiner reopens - the action would be a final action if it would be appropriate for the examiner to make it final, or if not, then a non-final action.
Of course, any non-entered amendments would have to be entered and treated by the Examiner.
