1411 Form of Specification [R-08.2017]
37 CFR 1.173 Reissue specification, drawings, and amendments.
- (a) Contents of a reissue application. An application for reissue
must contain the entire specification, including the claims, and the drawings of
the patent. No new matter shall be introduced into the application. No reissue
patent shall be granted enlarging the scope of the claims of the original patent
unless applied for within two years from the grant of the original patent,
pursuant to 35
U.S.C. 251.
- (1) Specification, including claims. The entire specification, including the claims, of the patent for which reissue is requested must be furnished in the form of a copy of the printed patent, in double column format, each page on only one side of a single sheet of paper. If an amendment of the reissue application is to be included, it must be made pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section. The formal requirements for papers making up the reissue application other than those set forth in this section are set out in § 1.52. Additionally, a copy of any disclaimer (§ 1.321), certificate of correction (§§ 1.322 through 1.324), or reexamination certificate (§ 1.570) issued in the patent must be included. (See also § 1.178).
- (2) Drawings. Applicant must submit a clean copy of each drawing sheet of the printed patent at the time the reissue application is filed. If such copy complies with § 1.84, no further drawings will be required. Where a drawing of the reissue application is to include any changes relative to the patent being reissued, the changes to the drawing must be made in accordance with paragraph (b)(3) of this section. The Office will not transfer the drawings from the patent file to the reissue application.
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Pursuant to 37 CFR 1.173(a)(1) the application specification, including the claims, must be furnished in the form of a copy of the printed patent in double column format (so that the patent can be simply copied without cutting). Applicants are required to submit a clean copy of each drawing sheet of the printed patent at the time the reissue application is filed (37 CFR 1.173(a)(2)). Any changes to the drawings must be made in accordance with 37 CFR 1.173(b)(3). Thus, a full copy of the printed patent (including the front page) is used to provide the abstract, drawings, specification, and claims of the patent for the reissue application. Each page of the patent must appear on only one side of each individual page of the specification of the reissue application; a two-sided copy of the patent is not proper. It should be noted that a re-typed specification is not acceptable in a reissue application; the full copy of the printed patent must be used. If, however, the changes to be made to the patent are so extensive/numerous that reading and understanding the specification is extremely difficult and error-prone, a clean copy of the specification may be submitted if accompanied by a grantable petition under 37 CFR 1.183 for waiver of 37 CFR 1.125(d) and 37 CFR 1.173(a)(1).
Pursuant to 37 CFR 1.173(b), amendments may be made at the time of filing of a reissue application. The amendment may be made either by:
- (A) physically incorporating the changes within the specification by cutting the column of the printed patent and inserting the added material and rejoining the remainder of the column and then joining the resulting modified column to the other column of the printed patent. Markings pursuant to 37 CFR 1.173(d) must be used to show the changes. The columnar structure of the printed patent must be preserved, and the physically modified page must comply with 37 CFR 1.52(a)(1). As to compliance with 37 CFR 1.52(a)(1)(iv), the "written either by a typewriter or machine printer in permanent dark ink or its equivalent" requirement is deemed to be satisfied where a caret and line are drawn from a position within the text to a newly added phrase, clause, sentence, etc. typed legibly in the margin; or
- (B) providing a preliminary amendment (a separate amendment paper) directing that specified changes be made to the copy of the printed patent.
The presentation of the insertions or deletions as part of the original reissue specification is an amendment under 37 CFR 1.173(b). An amendment of the reissue application made at the time of filing of the reissue application must be made in accordance with 37 CFR 1.173(b)-(e) and (g); see MPEP § 1453. Thus, as required by 37 CFR 1.173(c), an amendment of the claims made at the time of filing of a reissue application must include a separate paper setting forth the status of all claims (i.e., pending or canceled), and an explanation of the support in the disclosure of the patent for the changes made to the claims.
If a chart, table, or chemical formula is amended and it spans two columns of the patent, it should not be split. Rather, the chart, table, or chemical formula should be provided in its entirety as part of the column of the patent to which it pertains, in order to provide a continuity of the description. When doing so, the chart, table, or chemical formula may extend beyond the width of the column. Change in only a part of a word or chemical formula is not permitted. Entire words or chemical formulas must be shown as being changed. Deletion of a chemical formula should be shown by brackets which are substantially larger and darker than any in the formula.
Where an approved terminal disclaimer was filed in the application for the patent to be reissued, a copy of that terminal disclaimer need not be filed in the reissue application by the reissue applicant. To identify this information, an internal review form will be filled out at the appropriate point and placed into the file for the reissue application.
Twice reissued patent:
Examples of the form for a twice-reissued patent are found in Re. 23,558 and Re. 28,488. Double underlining and double bracketing are used in the second reissue application, while bold-faced type and double bracketing appear in the printed patent (the second reissue patent) to indicate further insertions and deletions, respectively, in the second reissue patent.
When a copy of a first reissue patent is used as the specification of a second reissue application (filed as a reissue of a reissue), additions made by the first reissue will already be printed in italics, and should remain in such format. Thus, applicants need only present additions to the specification/claims in the second reissue application as double underlined text. Subject matter to be deleted from the first reissue patent should be presented in the second reissue application within sets of double brackets.
1411.01 Certificate of Correction or Disclaimer in Original Patent [R-08.2012]
The applicant should include any changes, additions, or deletions that were made by a certificate of correction to the original patent grant in the reissue application without underlining or bracketing. This includes changes made by a certification of correction dated before the filing of the reissue application or dated during the pendency of the reissue application. The examiner should make certain that all certificate of correction changes in the patent have been properly incorporated into the reissue application.
Certificate of correction changes and disclaimer of claim(s) under 37 CFR 1.321(a) should be made without using underlining or brackets. Because these are retroactively a part of the original patent and are made before the reissue application will issue as a patent, they must show up in the printed reissue patent document as part of the original patent, i.e., not in italics or bracketed. If the changes are submitted improperly with underlining and brackets, the examiner will require correction by the applicant in the form of a replacement paragraph (or paragraphs) without such markings. If the changes are extensive, a clean copy of the specification with the certificate of correction changes in it may be required by the examiner after consulting with their supervisor. For the clean copy of the specification to be entered as a substitute specification, the reissue applicant must file a grantable petition under 37 CFR 1.183 for waiver of 37 CFR 1.125(d) and 37 CFR 1.173(a)(1). The examiner’s requirement for the clean copy will generally serve as sufficient basis for granting the petition.
1411.02 New Matter [R-10.2019]
New matter, that is, matter not present in the patent sought to be reissued, is excluded from a reissue application in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 251.
The claims in the reissue application must be for subject matter which the applicant had the right to claim in the original patent. Any change in the patent made via the reissue application should be checked to ensure that it does not introduce new matter. Note that new matter may exist by virtue of the omission of a feature or of a step in a method. See United States Industrial Chemicals, Inc. v. Carbide & Carbon Chemicals Corp., 315 U.S. 668, 53 USPQ 6 (1942).
Form paragraph 14.22.01 may be used where new matter has been added anywhere in “the application for reissue” as prohibited by 35 U.S.C. 251. Guidance on whether a rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, first paragraph, should also be made if the new matter is added to the claims or is added to the specification and affects the claims is provided in MPEP §§ 2161-2163 and 2166. Guidance on whether an objection should be made based on new matter being added is provided in MPEP § 608.04(a).
¶ 14.22.01 Rejection, 35 U.S.C. 251, New Matter
Claim [1] rejected under 35 U.S.C. 251 as being based upon new matter added to the patent for which reissue is sought. The added material which is not supported by the prior patent is as follows: [2]
Examiner Note:
- 1. In bracket 2, fill in the applicable page and line numbers and provide an explanation of your position, as appropriate.
- 2. A rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, first paragraph, should also be made if the new matter is added to the claims or is added to the specification and affects the claims. If new matter is added to the specification and does not affect the claims, an objection should be made based upon 35 U.S.C. 132 using form paragraph 7.28.
