When can amendments be filed after an appeal has been filed?

Amendments can be filed at different stages after an appeal has been filed, but their admissibility depends on the timing and nature of the amendment:

• Amendments filed after the notice of appeal but before the appeal brief may be admitted as provided in 37 CFR 1.116.
• Amendments filed on or after the date of filing a brief may be admitted only to:
  1. Cancel claims, where such cancellation does not affect the scope of any other pending claim in the proceeding, or
  2. Rewrite dependent claims into independent form.

As stated in MPEP 1206: “Entry of a new amendment in an application on appeal is not a matter of right. The entry of an amendment (which may not include a new affidavit, declaration, exhibit or other evidence) submitted in an application on appeal is governed by 37 CFR 41.33.”

To learn more:

• amendments
• appeal
• patent prosecution
• MPEP 1206