What is the applicant’s responsibility when submitting replacement drawings after allowance?
This page is an FAQ based on guidance from the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure. It is provided as guidance, with links to the ground truth sources. This is information only: it is not legal advice.
When submitting replacement drawings after allowance, the applicant has a crucial responsibility:
It is applicant’s responsibility to see that no new matter is added when submitting replacement drawings after allowance because they will not normally be reviewed by an examiner.
This means that applicants must ensure that any changes made to the drawings do not introduce new subject matter that wasn’t present in the original application. This responsibility is particularly important because examiners typically do not review these late-submitted drawings, placing the onus on the applicant to maintain the integrity of the application’s content.