How does the USPTO treat preliminary amendments filed on or after September 21, 2004?

For patent applications filed on or after September 21, 2004, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has a specific policy regarding preliminary amendments. According to MPEP 608.04(b):

For applications filed on or after September 21, 2004, the Office will automatically treat any preliminary amendment under 37 CFR 1.115(a)(1) that is present on the filing date of the application as part of the original disclosure.

This means that any preliminary amendment submitted along with the application on its filing date will be considered part of the original disclosure, without any additional action required by the applicant.

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Topics: Patent Law, Patent Procedure
Tags: patent application filing, USPTO policy