What were the requirements for continuation or divisional applications filed under 37 CFR 1.53(d) with changes in inventorship?

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.

For continuation or divisional applications filed under 37 CFR 1.53(d) (continued prosecution design applications) with changes in inventorship, the requirements were as follows:

“If an inventor named in a prior application is not an inventor in a continuation or divisional application filed under 37 CFR 1.53(d) (continued prosecution design application), the request for filing the continuation or divisional application must be accompanied by a statement requesting the deletion of the name or names of the person or persons who are not inventors of the invention being claimed in the continuation or divisional application (see 37 CFR 1.53(d)(4)).”

This meant that for continued prosecution design applications, a statement requesting the deletion of non-inventors had to be submitted along with the filing request when there were changes in inventorship.