United States Patent and Trademark Office OG Notices: 23 March 2004

                          Waiver of 37 CFR 1.312 for
            Documents Required by the Office of Patent Publication

   In preparation of a patent for issuance as a patent grant, if
the Office of Patent Publication discovers an error in the text, or
drawings of a patent application, including any missing text, or an
inconsistency between the drawings and the application papers, the
Office of Patent Publication may require an appropriate amendment to
the specification or drawings. 37 CFR 1.312, however, does not permit
an amendment after the payment of the issue fee without withdrawal of
the application from issue.

   In order to be able to accept such an amendment as may be
required without having to withdraw an application from issue, the
Office of Patent Publication is hereby delegated the authority to waive
the requirement of 37 CFR 1.312 and accept an amendment filed after the
payment of the issue fee.

   For information on this notice, contact the Office of
Patent Publication at (703)305-8263.

February 24, 2004                                          STEPHEN G. KUNIN
                                                    Deputy Commissioner for
                                                  Patent Examination Policy