How are Article 19 and Article 34 amendments treated in the U.S. national stage?
Article 19 and Article 34 amendments made during the international phase are treated differently when entering the U.S. national stage:
Article 19 Amendments:
Article 19 amendments to the claims will be entered by the USPTO if they are in English and received by the date of national stage commencement. As stated in MPEP 1893.01(a)(2):
“Article 19 amendments including a complete claim set in English will be entered by replacing the original English language claims of the international application with the amended claim set.”
Article 34 Amendments:
Article 34 amendments are typically annexed to the international preliminary examination report (IPER). According to MPEP 1893.01(a)(3):
“If these annexes are in English, they will normally be entered into the U.S. national stage application by the Office absent a clear instruction by the applicant that the annexes are not to be entered.”
For both types of amendments, if they are in a foreign language, a proper English translation must be furnished within the time limits set by the USPTO. If translations are not timely received, the amendments will be considered canceled.
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