Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Illinois

No, that is not safe to assume. The notice merely tells the applicant that the applicant can, if he or she wants, file applicant's version of the substance of the interview. The Examiner will file an Examiner's summary of the interview and this is notice that unless applicant files his or her own version, the Examiner's summary will be uncontested and thus conclusively the record of the interview. The interview is not a rejection of the claims, that presumably happened before the interview. The interview is simply a means for the applicant to try to convince the Examiner to allow the claims and remove the rejection. Apparently, in the case you are following, the applicant or applicant's attorney was not successful in achieving that purpose. It is usually not wise for an Applicant to file a statement of the substance of an unsuccessful interview unless the Examiner violated some procedural rule or law in the interview, as such a statement will limit the applicants arguments on appeal. Better is to appeal and make the criticisms there for various strategic reasons. So even the best patent attorneys usually don't file such a statement, and the absence of one means little or nothing. Having been unsuccessful in the interview, the applicant has 6 months from the date of the Office Action (not the interview) rejecting the claims to respond or appeal. So, you are monitoring the wrong date. Go back to the date of the Office Action before the interview and count six months forward for the real deadline. Then add a month for the record to be updated online and you should have a reliable date to work with. If the applicant appeals the rejection, you could have several years of additional pendency before the claims are abandoned or allowed. If you want someone to monitor this who fully understands patent practice, call me at 618-462-3450. Otherwise, you can try to cut corners on cost, take a big risk and just reread the preceding. Hopefully you now understand and you should be able to make a reasonable guess as to whether prosecution in the application is closed or not. Just realize that knowledge like that just given is why people go to patent attorneys for important matters like this where a mistake can cost you thousands of dollars, if not millions. In patent matters, as I am oft heard to remark, if you are you own "attorney", you may have a fool for an attorney and your "attorney" may have a fool for a client.