How does a patent examiner respond to an amendment attempting to refer to a CPA as a continuation or divisional application?

When a patent examiner encounters an amendment attempting to refer to a Continued Prosecution Application (CPA) as a continuation or divisional application, they should not enter the amendment. According to MPEP § 201.06(d), examiners are instructed to use Form Paragraph 2.34 to inform the applicant that such amendments will not be entered:

“Use this form paragraph to inform the applicant that an amendment to the first sentence(s) of the specification referring to the CPA as a continuing application of the prior application has not been entered and will not be entered if submitted again.”

The examiner will provide the reason for non-entry, explaining that the CPA request itself serves as the specific reference required by 35 U.S.C. 120, and there is no need to amend the specification to refer back to the prior application.

For more information on CPA, visit: CPA.