How does the USPTO handle ‘conditional’ requests for CPAs?

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) treats all ‘conditional’ requests for Continued Prosecution Applications (CPAs) as unconditional requests. This is clearly stated in MPEP ¶ 2.35:

“Any ‘conditional’ request for a CPA submitted as a separate paper is treated as an unconditional request for a CPA.”

This means that once a CPA request is filed, even if the applicant intended it to be conditional, the USPTO will process it as a regular CPA. The conditions specified by the applicant are essentially disregarded, and the CPA is established based on the filing of the request alone.

For more information on CPA, visit: CPA.

For more information on Patent Application Process, visit: Patent Application Process.