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507 Drawing Review in the Office of Initial Patent Examination [R-2] - 500 Receipt and Handling of Mail and Papers
507 Drawing Review in the Office of Initial Patent Examination [R-2]
The Office has revised the drawing review process to implement the eighteen-month publication of patent applications. Under the revised drawing review process, the Office of Initial Patent Examination (OIPE) **>performs< an initial review of drawings in new utility and plant patent applications filed on or after November 29, 2000 to see if the drawings can be effectively scanned for publication purposes. Design applications are not published. Therefore, drawings filed in design patent applications (whether filed before, on or after November 29, 2000) will be reviewed but not for publication purposes. The standard of review employed by OIPE is such that most drawings, including those that have been indicated by applicant to be informal drawings, will be accepted.
OIPE inspects the drawings to see if they can be effectively scanned and adequately reproduced. If the drawings are not acceptable, OIPE will object to the drawings and notify applicant that a timely submission of acceptable drawings (e.g., drawings which can be scanned) is required. This initial review process in OIPE is necessary in order to ensure that applications can be timely published.
Under the OIPE review process, OIPE may object to and require corrected drawings within a set time period, if the drawings:
(A) have a line quality that is too light to be reproduced (weight of all lines and letters must be heavy enough to permit adequate reproduction) or text that is illegible (reference characters, sheet numbers, and view numbers must be plain and legible). See 37 CFR 1.84(l) and (p)(1);
(B) have missing lead lines. See 37 CFR 1.84(q). Lead lines are those lines between the reference characters and the details referred to;
(C) contain excessive text or text that is not in English (including, for example, a flow chart that was originally not in English that has been marked up to include the English text). See 37 CFR 1.84(o) and (p)(2) and 37 CFR 1.52(d)(1);
(D) do not have the appropriate margin or are not on the correct size paper. See 37 CFR 1.84(f) and (g). Each sheet must include a top margin of at least 2.5 cm. (1 inch), a left size margin of at least 2.5 cm. (1 inch), a right size margin of at least 1.5 cm. (5/8 inch), and a bottom margin of at least 1.0 cm. (3/8 inch). The size of the sheets on which drawings are made must be either 21.0 cm. by 29.7 cm. (DIN size A4) or 21.6 cm. by 27.9 cm. (8-1/2 by 11 inches);
(E) have more than one figure and each figure is not labeled "Fig." With a consecutive Arabic numeral (1, 2, etc.) or an Arabic numeral and capital letter in the English alphabet (A, B, etc.). See 37 CFR 1.84(u)(1);
(F) include photographs of the claimed invention which are capable of illustration by other medium such as ink drawings, and which are illegible after scanning. See 37 CFR 1.84(b); and
(G) contain color drawings or color photographs, but not a petition to accept color drawings/photographs. Note that the requirement under 37 CFR 1.84(a)(2)(iii) and 37 CFR 1.165(b) for a black and white photocopy of any color drawings/photographs has been waived. See 1246 O.G. 106 (May 22, 2001).
If OIPE objects to the drawings and sends applicant a Notice requiring submission of corrected drawings within a set time period (usually two months), corrected drawings must be filed, in paper, to the mailing address set forth in the Notice, along with any other items required by OIPE, to avoid abandonment of the application. No fee will be necessary for filing corrected drawings which are required by OIPE. Otherwise, in most situations, patent application publications and patents will reflect the quality of the drawings that are included with a patent application on filing unless applicant voluntarily submits better quality drawings as set forth below.
>I. < VOLUNTARY SUBMISSION OF REPLACEMENT DRAWINGS FOR PURPOSES OF PATENT APPLICATION PUBLICATION
As noted above, for the vast majority of applications, corrected or new drawings will not be required, and the application will be published with the originally filed drawings. Although the initial submission of high quality drawings is certainly encouraged, the USPTO will not require applicant to submit "formal drawings" for purposes of publication of the application.
>II. < REPLACEMENT DRAWINGS SUBMITTED ON PAPER
Applicant may submit replacement drawings within the later of one month from the filing date of the application, or fourteen months from the earliest filing date for which a benefit is sought under Title 35, United States Code. The replacement paper drawings must be filed in an envelope addressed to **>Mail Stop PGPUB Drawings, Commissioner for Patents, P.O. BOX 1450, Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450<, with a petition under 37 CFR 1.182 requesting entry of the drawings, and the petition fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(h). If such replacement drawings are properly and timely submitted, the patent application publication shall include the replacement drawings. Replacement drawings that are received later than this date may still be included in the patent application publication, where practicable, if the USPTO has not started the patent application publication process when the paper drawings and the appropriate fee are received.
**>Mail Stop PGPUB Drawings< should only be used for filing replacement drawings for inclusion in a patent application publication. The replacement drawings should be accompanied by a transmittal letter identifying the application to which the replacement drawings are directed and either an authorization to charge the petition fee or other payment of the petition fee. Replacement drawings received in this special *>mail stop< will be scanned and included in the electronic document which will be used for the patent application publication. After the replacement drawings are scanned for the patent application publication, they will be made of record in the application file. Replacement drawings that are not mailed to the special *>mail stop<, or are filed without the appropriate petition fee, or are untimely submitted, will be routed to, and made of record in the application file ** and will not be included in the patent application publication. Other papers, such as amendments to the application, amended titles or status inquiries should not be included with the replacement drawings addressed to **>Mail Stop PGPUB Drawings<. By including any such other items with the replacement drawings may result in the replacement drawings not being scanned for purposes of the patent application publication. Replacement drawings for unrelated applications must be submitted in separate envelopes to ensure that the replacement drawings are associated with the proper application file prior to publication.
III. < REPLACEMENT DRAWINGS SUBMITTED WITH A SPECIFICATION THROUGH THE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM
Applicant may also submit replacement drawings in electronic form by submitting the drawings with a copy of the application, as amended during prosecution, for publication via the Electronic Filing System (EFS). Pursuant to 37 CFR 1.215(c), the EFS submission must be filed within the later of one month from the filing date of the application, or fourteen months from the earliest filing date for which a benefit is sought under Title 35, United Stated Code. A paper copy of the replacement drawings must also be filed in the application within the time period noted above. The paper replacement drawings must be placed in an envelope addressed to **>Mail Stop PGPUB Drawings, Commissioner for Patents, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450<. Since the replacement drawings was also submitted via EFS, a petition under 37 CFR 1.182 requesting entry of the drawings, and the petition fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(h) will not be required with the submission of the paper copy of the replacement drawings. The replacement drawings submitted via EFS should be submitted in accordance with the instructions for EFS submissions. Information on EFS submissions can be obtained at http://www.uspto.gov/ebc/efs/. If such paper or EFS replacement drawings are properly and timely submitted, the patent application publication shall include the replacement drawings. Replacement drawings that are received later than this date may be included in the patent application publication, where practicable, if the USPTO has not started the patent application publication process when the EFS replacement drawings are received. See 37 CFR 1.215(c).
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