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.
The effective filing date for claims in a continuation-in-part (CIP) application is determined based on the support provided in the parent application:
If the application is a continuation-in-part of an earlier U.S. application or international application, any claims in the new application not supported by the specification and claims of the parent application have an effective filing date equal to the actual filing date of the new application. Any claims which are fully supported under 35 U.S.C. 112 by the earlier parent application have the effective filing date of that earlier parent application.
This means that in a CIP application:
- Claims fully supported by the parent application retain the parent’s filing date as their effective filing date.
- New claims or those not fully supported by the parent have the CIP application’s actual filing date as their effective filing date.
It’s important to note that this determination is made on a claim-by-claim basis, not for the entire application.