35 U.S.C. § 132: Notice of rejection; reexamination

Whenever, on examination, any claim for a patent is rejected, or any objection or requirement made, the Director shall notify the applicant thereof, stating the reasons for such rejection, or objection or requirement, together with such information and references as may be useful in judging of the propriety of continuing the prosecution of his application; and if after receiving such notice, the applicant persists in his claim for a patent, with or without amendment, the application shall be re­examined. No amendment shall introduce new matter into the disclosure of the invention. The Director shall prescribe regulations to provide for the continued examination of applications for patent at the request of the applicant. The Director may establish appropriate fees for such continued examination and shall provide a 50 percent reduction in such fees for small entities that qualify for reduced fees under section 41(h)(1). shall take effect on the date that is 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act [ Nov. 29, 1999 ], and shall apply to all applications filed under section 111(a) of title 35 , United States Code, on or after June 8, 1995 , and all applications complying with section 371 of title 35 , United States Code, that resulted from international applications filed on or after June 8, 1995 ; and do not apply to applications for design patents under chapter 16 of title 35, United States Code.”