<But: one would have thought, they were faster, because it is in their own interest to speed up the process.>

If you are suggesting that it is to our benefit to file a 336 notice of appeal prior to the deadline, I disagree for 3 reasons.

1. The earlier you file the notice, the earlier you need to file the appeal. A rushed submittal could spell disaster. Giving yourself the maximum amount of time is essential.

2. There are other patents and applications that are simultaneously being worked on. Availability of manpower/time to make all the responses is not unlimited, and hence you want to maximize the time allotted.

3. They may also want to give the 148 as much time as possible to resolve the pending question of what constitutes a cpu. What is decided there could impact on what we eventually put in the 336 appeal.

All IMHO Opty