有關「先行修正」的後續「狀態識別符」

感謝與同事討論所「發掘」出的知識筆記。

本篇有關先行修正（preliminary amendments）的後續狀態識別符（status identifier），問題是，如果在審查意見（first OA）之前提出先行修正（也稱主動修正），也包括專利範圍的修正，那麼，後續答辯的修正的狀態識別符如何標示？

MPEP 714規定「修正」這件事：https://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/s714.html

[相關法規]

MPEP 714.01(e) Amendments Before First Office Action

37 CFR 1.115  Preliminary amendments.

(a) A preliminary amendment is an amendment that is received in the Office (§ 1.6) on or before the mail date of the first Office action under § 1.104. The patent application publication may include preliminary amendments (§ 1.215(a)).

(1) A preliminary amendment that is present on the filing date of an application is part of the original disclosure of the application.

(2) A preliminary amendment filed after the filing date of the application is not part of the original disclosure of the application.

根據「MPEP 714.01(e) Amendments Before First Office Action」規定，其中提到：「The claim set submitted should be the set of claims intended to be examined, and when the claims submitted on filing are part of the specification (on sequentially numbered pages of the specification (see 37 CFR 1.52(b)(5) )), no status identifiers and no markings showing the changes need to be used.」

提出Preliminary amendments有兩個時間點：

(1)申請日當天提出的preliminary amendments（例如，情況可能是從PCT進美國），如此，修正的部分即視為原說明書的一部分，這時提出的amendments不需要status identifier，（除非有新增claims，如下說明）；

(2)申請日後、1stOA前提出的preliminary amendments，則不會視為原說明書的一部分，這時提出的amendments應該需要status identifier，這樣的話，後續修正應該不是從「original」開始。

根據MPEP 714，針對「新增claim」：

“Claims added by a preliminary amendment must have the status identifier (new) instead of (original), even when the preliminary amendment is present on the filing date of the application and such claim is treated as part of the original disclosure. If applicant files a subsequent amendment, applicant must use the status identifier (previously presented) if the claims are not being amended, or (currently amended) if the claims are being amended, in the subsequent amendment. Claims that are canceled by a preliminary amendment that is present on the filing date of the application are required to be listed and must have the status identifier (canceled) in the preliminary amendment and in any subsequent amendment.”

其中，如果是申請日當日提出的preliminary amendments，若有「新增」專利範圍，preliminary amendments還是要加「new」，而後續修正若無修改，就為「previously presented」。

如果preliminary amendments刪除了原申請時的claim，包括後續修正本，都應標註「canceled」。

Ron