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1893.01(a)(2) Article 19 Amendment (Filed With the International Bureau) [R-3] - 1800 Patent Cooperation Treaty
1893.01(a)(2) Article 19 Amendment (Filed With the International Bureau) [R-3]
The claims of an international application may be amended under PCT Article 19 after issuance of the search report. The description and drawings may not be amended under PCT Article 19. The amendment is forwarded to the U.S. Designated Office by the International Bureau for inclusion in the U.S. national stage application. Article 19 amendments which were made in English will be entered by substituting each page of amendment for the corresponding English language page of claims of the international application. If the Article 19 amendments were made in a language other than English, applicant must provide an English translation for the U.S. national stage application. The Article 19 amendment(s) and the English translation of the amendment(s) must be received by the Office by **>the date of commencement of the national stage (see MPEP § 1893.01)<. Otherwise, the amendment(s) will be considered to be canceled, 35 U.S.C. 371(d). If such canceled amendments are desired, they must be offered under 37 CFR 1.121 as a preliminary amendment or a responsive amendment under 37 CFR 1.111.
Applicants entering the national stage in the U.S. are encouraged to submit an amendment in accordance with 37 CFR 1.121 rather than an English translation of an Article 19 amendment. Sometimes when an Article 19 amendment is translated into English, it cannot be entered. That is, each page of an Article 19 amendment must be entered by substituting a page of amendment for the corresponding page of claims of the international application. After translation of a page, the translated page may no longer correspond to a page of the claims of the international application such that the amendment is capable of entry by substituting the page of English translation (of the amendment) for the corresponding page of claims of the international application without leaving an inconsistency. Where applicant chooses to submit an English translation of the Article 19 amendment, applicant should check to be sure that the English translation can be entered by substituting the pages of translation for corresponding pages of the claims of the international application without leaving an inconsistency. If entry of the page of translation causes inconsistencies in the claims of the international application the translation will not be entered. For example, if the translation of the originally filed application has a page which begins with claim 1 and ends with a first part of claim 2 with the remainder of claim 2 on the next page then translation of the Article 19 amendment to only claim 1 must include a substitute page or pages beginning with the changes to claim 1 and ending with the last of the exact same first part of claim 2. This enables the original translated first page of claims to be replaced by the translation of the amendment without changing the subsequent unamended page(s). Alternatively, applicant may submit a preliminary amendment in accordance with 37 CFR 1.121.
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