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(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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A clean copy (e.g., good quality photocopies free of any extraneous markings) of each drawing sheet of the printed patent must be supplied by the applicant at the time of filing of the reissue application. If the copies meet the requirements of 37 CFR 1.84, no further formal drawings will be required. New drawing sheets are not to be submitted, unless some change is made in the original patent drawings. Such changes must be made in accordance with 37 CFR 1.173(b)(3).
The prior reissue practice of transferring drawings from the patent file has been eliminated, since clean photocopies of the printed patent drawings are acceptable for use in the printing of the reissue patent.
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(3) Drawings. Any change to the patent drawings must be submitted as a sketch on a separate paper showing the proposed changes in red for approval by the examiner. Upon approval by the examiner, new drawings in compliance with § 1.84 including the approved changes must be filed. Amended figures must be identified as "Amended," and any added figure must be identified as "New." In the event that a figure is canceled, the figure must be surrounded by brackets and identified as "Canceled."
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The provisions of 37 CFR 1.173 (b)(3) govern the manner of making amendments (changes) to the drawings in a reissue application. The following guidance is provided as to the procedure for amending drawings:
(A) Amending the original or printed patent drawing sheets by physically changing or altering them is not permitted. Any request to do so should be denied.
(B) Where a change to the drawings is desired, a request for the drawing change must be filed as a separate paper in the application. The request must include a sketch in permanent ink showing proposed changes in red and must include a request for approval of the changes by the examiner. The examiner should inspect the sketch for the presence of new matter, for conformance with the specification as to structure and numbering, and for anything else that could result in the refusal of the request for the drawing change.
(C) Where the drawing change request is approved, the examiner will require a formal copy of the drawing sheet(s) having the change(s). Each new drawing sheet must identify any changed figure as "amended" and any added figure as "new." If a drawing figure is to be deleted in toto, it must be enclosed in brackets and identified as "canceled." If any new drawing sheet does not comply with these requirements that drawing sheet will not be entered.
(D) For each proper new drawing sheet being added, the new sheet should be inserted after the existing drawing sheets. For each proper new drawing sheet which replaces an existing drawing sheet, the existing sheet should be canceled by placing the sheet face down in the file and placing a large "X" on the back of the sheet. The new sheet should be inserted in place of the turned over existing sheet.
(E) If any drawing change request is not approved or if any submitted sheet of formal drawings is not entered, the examiner will so inform the reissue applicant in the next Office action, and the examiner will set forth the reasons for same.
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