My question is what information needs to be included in the response to the Advisory Action?
[I wrote this response before fulling digesting the Original Post. I address the OP's specific questions below, but I thought I'd keep my more general answer too because might be useful another reader of this thread.]
Technically, you don't respond "to the Advisory Action". What you are required to do on Final is to a) put the case in condition for allowance (only possible if you have allowable claims and/or subject matter); b) file a Notice of Appeal; or c) file an RCE responding to the outstanding rejections in the Final OA.
Now, if you choose to file an RCE, you might in your "Response Accompanying RCE" choose to address any points the Examiner made in the Advisory Action.
I have responded to a final rejection with amendments after final. The amendments were not entered and the Examiner issued an advisory action. I conducted an interview with the Examiner between the times of my response and issuance of the Advisory Action and we generally worked out what further amendments have to be made in order to bring the application into a condition for allowance.
In your specific situation -- you have amendments in mind -- you'll need to file an RCE to get those amendments entered. Presumably the Examiner will then issue an Notice of Allowance.
My question is what information needs to be included in the response to the Advisory Action? Since the amendment after final was not entered, I assume that my latest amendment will have to show my changes from the response after final, plus the further changes after the Advisory Action,
Correct.
but do I have to repeat my arguments in response to the final? Should I have to address every issue in the final rejection as well? Could I possibly reference my previous response? After all, the amendments were not entered, but the remarks should still be of record, right?
I don't know of any authority on point. Logically, I don't see why you *couldn't* say "this response incorporates all arguments made in the response filed XX." You're absolutely right that your previous remarks are in the record.
My personal style is not to incorporate by reference, but to file a response that can stand on its own. It doesn't take more than a minimal amount of extra time, since I copy the arguments from the last response.
Also, I'm not sure what to call the issues the Examiner had in the Advisory Action, since there are no formal "112 rejections". Is it proper to just label a seciton of my response "Issue Brought Forth By the Advisory Action Mailled on..."?
When the Advisory Action contains additional information about the rejections, then I address each point from the AA in the corresponding rejection section of my response. If the AA is merely an interview summary, I'd probably add my own Interview Summary section to my response, and either say I agreed with the Examiner's version of the summary or explain how my understanding is different.
