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[CarryJ]

A patent application  was filed on 1993/10/22 and abandoned on 1995/3/30 before the date for filing a file wrapper continuation application. The file wrapper continuation had a new serial number and was issued on 1997/02/18.
If a person knew the serial no of the abandoned application, can he/she get the file history after the abandoned date(1995.3.30)?By the other way, when is the public date for the abandoned application?Is it the abandoned date or the issued date of the file wrapper continuation application?

[Jonathan]

Unless the rules were different in that timeframe, then the second application can't be a continuation as there is no codependency between the two applications. Additionally, that 2nd application / patent is probably not valid since the inventor abandoned the invention via that 1st application (assuming both applications are directed to the same invention).

But to answer your question, a file history of an abandoned application is available for public inspection / copying if the abandoned application is mentioned in a published application or issued patent or if the abandoned application is relied upon for a priority claim in a published application or issued patent. The date of availability is usually the date of publication of the 2nd application or the issue date of the patent if it was not publicly available via publication.

[JimIvey]

Brief historical overview:  FWC (File Wrapper Continuation) is the predecessor of the CPA (Continuing Prosecution Application) which is itself the predecessor of the RCE (Request for Continued Examination).  The FWC, if I remember correctly, was a simultaneous continuation of a prior application and an explicit abandonment of the prior application.  Back then, patent term was based on the issue date, so there was really nothing else to the FWC.  My understanding was that a new serial number was simply placed on the existing file wrapper (actually paper manila folder), so the file history may implicitly include the parent application.  The FWC gave way to the CPA which avoided the loss of the 17-year patent term.  And the CPA gave way to the RCE avoids going to the back of the patent application line.

Jonathan is right.  Copendency was required in all those applications -- FWC, CPA, and RCE.  And, his description of which abandoned applications are publicly available is correct, too.  You simply order the file history by serial number (and perhaps filing date).

Regards.