What happens if a patent application is filed without all the required drawings?
If a patent application is filed without all the required drawings, the Office of Patent Application Processing (OPAP) will review the application and may issue a “Notice of Omitted Item(s).” This notice informs the applicant that the application has been accorded a filing date but is missing some of the figures described in the specification.
The applicant then has several options:
- Establish prior receipt of the missing drawings
- Submit the omitted drawings and accept a later filing date
- Accept the application as deposited and make appropriate amendments
As stated in the MPEP, The mailing of an OPAP notice regarding a missing drawing figure(s) in a nonprovisional application will permit the applicant to: (A) promptly establish prior receipt in the USPTO of the drawing(s) at issue… (B) promptly submit the omitted drawing(s) in a nonprovisional application and accept the date of such submission as the application filing date… (C) accept the application as deposited in the USPTO by filing an appropriate amendment.
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