Source: https://bitlaw.com/source/mpep/2250.html
Timestamp: 2019-04-24 20:26:54+00:00

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(1) Specification other than the claims. Changes to the specification, other than to the claims, must be made by submission of the entire text of an added or rewritten paragraph including markings pursuant to paragraph (f) of this section, except that an entire paragraph may be deleted by a statement deleting the paragraph, without presentation of the text of the paragraph. The precise point in the specification must be identified where any added or rewritten paragraph is located. This paragraph applies whether the amendment is submitted on paper or compact disc (see §§ 1.96 and 1.825 ).
(2) Claims. An amendment paper must include the entire text of each patent claim which is being proposed to be changed by such amendment paper and of each new claim being proposed to be added by such amendment paper. For any claim changed by the amendment paper, a parenthetical expression "amended," "twice amended," etc., should follow the claim number. Each patent claim proposed to be changed and each proposed added claim must include markings pursuant to paragraph (f) of this section, except that a patent claim or proposed added claim should be canceled by a statement canceling the claim, without presentation of the text of the claim.
(3) The claim or claims must commence on a separate physical sheet or electronic page (§ 1.75(h) ).
(4) The abstract must commence on a separate physical sheet or electronic page or be submitted as the first page of the patent in a reissue application or reexamination or supplemental examination proceeding (§ 1.72(b) ).
Amendments to the patent (one which has not expired) may be filed by the patent owner with the request under 35 U.S.C. 302. See MPEP § 2221. Such amendments, however, may not enlarge the scope of a claim of the patent or introduce new matter. Amended or new claims which broaden or enlarge the scope of a claim of the patent should be rejected under 35 U.S.C. 305. The test for when an amended or "new claim enlarges the scope of an original claim under 35 U.S.C. 305 is the same as that under the 2-year limitation for reissue applications adding enlarging claims under 35 U.S.C. 251, last paragraph." In re Freeman, 30 F.3d 1459, 1464, 31 USPQ2d 1444, 1447 (Fed. Cir. 1994). See MPEP § 2258 for a discussion of enlargement of claim scope. For handling of new matter, see MPEP § 2270. Amendments proposed in a reexamination will normally be entered and be considered to be entered for purposes of prosecution before the Office (if they are timely and comply with the rules); however, the amendments do not become effective in the patent until the reexamination certificate under 35 U.S.C. 307 is issued and published.
No amendment will be permitted where the certificate issues after expiration of the patent. See 37 CFR 1.530(d)(3). The patent expiration date for a utility patent, for example, is determined by taking into account the term of the patent, whether maintenance fees have been paid for the patent, whether any disclaimer was filed as to the patent to shorten its term, any patent term extensions or adjustments for delays within the USPTO under 35 U.S.C. 154 (see MPEP § 2710 et seq.), and any patent term extensions under 35 U.S.C. 156 for premarket regulatory review (see MPEP § 2750 et. seq.). Any other relevant information should also be taken into account.
Amendment Entry — Amendments which comply with 37 CFR 1.530(d)-(j) (and are formally presented pursuant to 37 CFR 1.52(a) and (b), and contain all fees required by 37 CFR 1.20(c) ) will be entered in the reexamination file pursuant to the guidelines set forth in MPEP § 2234.
37 CFR 1.530(d)(1) relates to the manner of making amendments to the reexamination "specification" (other than the claims). It is not to be used for making amendments to the claims or the drawings.
37 CFR 1.530(d)(1) requires that all amendments, which include any deletions or additions, must be made by submission of the full text of any paragraph to be changed in any manner, with markings (single brackets and underlining) showing the changes. It should be noted that examiner’s amendments made at the time when the Notice of Intent to Issue Reexamination Certificate (NIRC) is prepared also require the full text of any paragraph to be changed, with markings. The exception for examiner’s amendment set forth in 37 CFR 1.121(g) does not apply to examiner’s amendments in reexamination proceedings. It should further be noted that the requirement of 37 CFR 1.530(d)(1) applies regardless of whether the amendment is submitted on paper or on compact disc (pursuant to 37 CFR 1.96 or 1.825 ). The only exception to this requirement is that an entire paragraph of specification text may be deleted from the specification by a statement deleting the paragraph without the presentation of the text of the paragraph. However, presentation of the text of the paragraph to be deleted will assist the Office in proper entry of the amendment.
37 CFR 1.530(d)(1) defines the "markings" by reference to 37 CFR 1.530(f) as being single brackets for deletion and underlining for addition. All bracketing and underlining is made in comparison to the original patent; not in comparison with the prior amendment.
Where a change is made in one sentence, paragraph or page of the patent, and the change increases or decreases the size of the sentence, paragraph or page, this will have no effect on the body of the reexamination "specification" (the copy of the patent). This is because all insertions are made as blocked additions of paragraphs. Therefore, a reexamination patent owner need not be concerned with page formatting considerations when presenting amendments to the Office.
Examiner’s amendments made at the time when the Notice of Intent to Issue Reexamination Certificate (NIRC) is prepared also require the full text of any claim to be changed, with markings. The exception for examiner’s amendment set forth in 37 CFR 1.121(g) does not apply to examiner’s amendments in reexamination proceedings. The requirements of 37 CFR 1.530(d)(2) apply regardless of whether the amendment is submitted on paper or on compact disc (pursuant to 37 CFR 1.96 or 1.825 ).
2. In bracket 3, if the reexamination was requested by a third party requester, the examiner should insert "ONE MONTH or thirty days, whichever is longer". If the reexamination was requested by the patent owner, if the reexamination was ordered under 35 U.S.C. 257, or if it is a Director ordered reexamination, the examiner should insert "TWO MONTHS."
Note that if the informal amendment is submitted after final rejection, form paragraph 22.13 and form PTOL-475 should not be used. Rather an advisory Office action (using form PTOL-467) should be issued indicating that the amendment was not entered. In the "Other" section, it should be explained that the amendment was not entered because it does not comply with 37 CFR 1.530(d)-(j), which sets forth the manner of making amendments in reexamination proceedings.
Pursuant to 37 CFR 1.530(j), "[n]o amendment may be proposed for entry in an expired patent." Thus, if a patent expires during the pendency of a reexamination proceeding for a patent, all amendments to the patent claims and all claims added during the proceeding are withdrawn. The patent owner should be notified of this in the next Office action. The Office action will hold the amendments to be improper, and state that all subsequent reexamination will be on the basis of the unamended patent claims. This procedure is necessary since no amendments will be incorporated into the patent by a certificate after the expiration of the patent.
37 CFR 1.530(j) further states that "[m]oreover, no amendment, other than the cancellation of claims, will be incorporated into the patent by a certificate issued after the expiration of the patent."
The cancellation of the original patent claims is the only "amendatory" change permitted in an expired patent.
Each proposed new claim (i.e., a claim not found in the patent, that is newly presented in the reexamination proceeding) should be presented with underlining throughout the claim, including the claim number. The status identifier "(new)" may or may not be underlined. Examiners may accept an amendment even if the claim number is not underlined or the status identifier(s) used is not a status identifier recommended by 37 CFR 1.530(d)(2) or 1.121(c).
An amendment of a new claim (i.e., a claim not found in the patent, that was previously presented in the reexamination proceeding) must present the entire text of the new claim containing the amendatory material, and it must be underlined throughout the claim, including the claim number. The status identifier(s) may or may not be underlined. Examiners may accept an amendment even if the claim number is not underlined or the status identifier(s) used is not a status identifier recommended by 37 CFR 1.530(d)(2) or 1.121(c). The presentation cannot contain any bracketing or other indication of what was in the previous version of the claim. This is because all changes in the reexamination are made vis-a-vis the original patent, and not in comparison with any prior amendment. Although the presentation of the amended claim does not contain any indication of what is changed from a previous version of the claim, patent owner must point out what is changed, in the "Remarks" portion of the amendment. Also, as per 37 CFR 1.530(e), each change made in the claim must be accompanied by an explanation of the support in the disclosure of the patent (i.e., the reexamination specification) for the change.
Claim 11: Claim 11 is amended to add "fishing" before "knife" and "bone" before "handle." Support for these changes is found in column 4, lines 34-41 and column 6, lines 5-8, respectively.
The word bone was presented in the first amendment and is now to be deleted in the second amendment. Thus, "bone" is NOT to be shown in brackets in the second amendment. Rather, the word "bone" is simply omitted from the claim, since "bone" never appeared in the patent.
The word notched which was presented in the first amendment is replaced by the word serrated in the second amendment. The word notched is being deleted in the second amendment and did not appear in the patent; accordingly, "notched" is not shown in any form in the claim. The word serrated is being added in the second amendment, and accordingly, "serrated" is added to the claim and is underlined.
It should be understood that in the second amendment, the deletions of "notched" and "bone" are not changes from the original patent claim text and therefore, are not shown in the second amendment. In both the first and the second amendments, the entire claim is presented only with the changes from the original patent text.

References: § 2221
 § 2258
 § 2270
 § 2710
 § 2750
 § 2234