What happens if I submit an amendment to refer to a CPA as a continuation or divisional application?

If you submit an amendment to refer to a Continued Prosecution Application (CPA) as a continuation or divisional application, it will be denied entry by the patent examiner. The MPEP ¶ 2.34 states:

“Thus, there is no need to amend the first sentence(s) of the specification to refer back to the prior application and any such amendment shall be denied entry.”

This means that the patent examiner will not accept or incorporate such amendments into the application. The CPA itself serves as the necessary reference to the prior application, making additional amendments unnecessary and inappropriate.

For more information on continuation application, visit: continuation application.

For more information on CPA, visit: CPA.

For more information on Divisional application, visit: Divisional application.

For more information on patent examination, visit: patent examination.