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714.24 Amendment of Amendments - 700 Examination of Applications


714.24 Amendment of Amendments

When a replacement paragraph or section to the specification is to be amended, it should be wholly rewritten and the original insertion canceled, so that no interlineations or deletions shall appear in the clause as finally presented. Matter canceled by amendment can be reinstated only by a subsequent amendment presenting the canceled matter as a new insertion. A claim cancelled by amendment (deleted in its entirety) may be reinstated only by a subsequent amendment presenting the claim as a new claim with a new claim number.


714.25 Discourtesy of Applicant or Attorney

37 CFR 1.3 Business to be conducted with decorum and courtesy.

Applicants and their attorneys or agents are required to conduct their business with the Patent and Trademark Office with decorum and courtesy. Papers presented in violation of this requirement will be submitted to the Commissioner and will be returned by the Commissioner's direct order. Complaints against examiners and other employees must be made in correspondence separate from other papers.


All papers received in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office should be briefly reviewed by the technical support staff, before entry, sufficiently to determine whether any discourteous remarks appear therein.

If the attorney or agent is discourteous in the remarks or arguments in his or her amendment, either the discourtesy should be entirely ignored or the paper submitted to the Technology Center (TC) Director with a view toward it being returned. See MPEP § 1003. If the TC Director determines that the remarks are in violation of 37 CFR 1.3, the TC Director will return the paper.

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