A reply to the written opinion of the ISA in the form of arguments and/or amendments will be considered by the IPEA if a demand has been filed with the IPEA. All amendments in reply to a written opinion must be received within the time limit set for reply in order to be assured of consideration in the international preliminary examination report. Amendments filed at or before expiration of the period for reply will be considered. Since the examiner will begin to draw up the international preliminary examination report rather promptly after the time period expires, amendments filed after expiration of the reply period may not be considered. However, as indicated in MPEP § 1871, there may be situations where it is advisable, to the extent possible, to take such amendments or arguments into account, for example, where the international preliminary examination report has not yet been completed and it is readily apparent to the examiner that consideration of the late-filed response would result in the issuance of a favorable report. In view of the short time period for completion of preliminary examination, applicants are strongly encouraged to file any amendments promptly. 37 CFR 1.484(d) does not allow for extensions of time to reply to a written opinion. The policy of not allowing extensions of time is to ensure that the USPTO can meet its treaty deadline for transmission of the international preliminary examination report.

Any change, other than the rectification of obvious mistakes in the claims, the description, or the drawings, including the cancellation of claims, omission of passages in the description or omission of certain drawings will be considered an amendment (PCT Rule 66.5). The Patent and Trademark Office when acting as the International Preliminary Examining Authority will not accept any non-English applications or amendments.

Any amendments to the description and the drawings in reply to a written opinion must (1) be made by submitting a replacement sheet for every sheet of the application which differs from the sheet it replaces unless an entire sheet is cancelled and (2) include a description of how the replacement sheet differs from the replaced sheet in accordance with PCT Rule 66.8.

Any amendment to the claims in reply to a written opinion must be made by submitting a replacement sheet or sheets containing a complete set of claims in replacement of all the claims originally filed or previously amended under Articles 19 or 34, as the case may be in accordance with PCT Rule 66.8. The replacement sheet or sheets shall be accompanied by a letter which: (i) shall identify the claims which, on account of the amendments, differ from the claims originally filed, and shall draw attention to the differences between the claims originally filed and the claims as amended; (ii) shall identify the claims originally filed which, on account of the amendments, are cancelled; (iii) shall indicate the basis for the amendments in the application as filed.

In the particular case where the amendment cancels claims, passages in the description or certain drawings resulting in the cancellation of an entire sheet, the amendment must be submitted in the form of a letter cancelling the sheet (PCT Rule 66.8(a)).

Generally, the replacement sheets should be in typed form and contain the changes in clean copy without any underlining and/or bracketing. A marked-up copy may be included as part of the remarks, along with the clean copy.

Any paper submitted by the applicant, if not in the form of a letter, must be accompanied by a letter signed by the applicant or agent (PCT Rule 92.1). The letter must draw attention to the differences between the replaced sheet and the replacement sheet.

The examiner should make sure that amendments filed in accordance with the PCT, which are necessary to correct any deficiencies notified to the applicant, do not go beyond the disclosure of the international application as filed, thus violating PCT Article 34(2)(b). In other words, no amendment should contain matter that cannot be substantiated by the application as originally filed. In a situation where new matter is introduced by amendment in reply to a written opinion, the international preliminary examination report will be established as if the amendment had not been made, and the report should so indicate. It shall also indicate the reasons why the amendment goes beyond the disclosure (PCT Rule 70.2(c)). Although new matter which appears on a replacement sheet will be disregarded for the purpose of establishing the report, the remainder of the replacement sheet, including any amendments which do not constitute new matter, will be taken into consideration for the purpose of establishing the report.

INTERVIEWS

The examiner or applicant may, after the filing of a demand and during the time limit for reply to the written opinion, request a telephone or personal interview. Only one interview is a matter of right, whether by telephone or in person. Additional interviews may be authorized by the examiner in a particular international application where such additional interview may be helpful to advance the international preliminary examination procedure.

All interviews of substance must be made of record by using PCT/IPEA/428 Notice on Informal Communication with the Applicant.

When an interview is arranged, whether by telephone or in writing, and whether by the examiner or by the applicant, the matters for discussion should be stated.

The records of interviews or telephone conversations should indicate, where appropriate, whether a reply is due from the applicant or agent or whether the examiner wishes to issue an additional written opinion or establish the international preliminary examination report.

If the applicant desires to reply to the written opinion, such reply must be filed within the time limit set for reply in order to assure consideration. No extensions to the time limit will be considered or granted. If no timely reply is received from the applicant, the international preliminary examination report will be established by the examiner, treating each claim substantially as it was treated in the written opinion. Replies to the written opinion which are not filed within the time limit set but which reach the examiner before the examiner takes up the application for preparation of the final report may be considered. Thus, only timely replies can be assured of consideration.

The applicant may reply to the invitation referred to in Rule 66.2(c) by making amendments or, if the applicant disagrees with the opinion of the authority, by submitting arguments, as the case may be, or both (PCT Rule 66.3).

If applicant does not reply to the written opinion, the international preliminary examination report will be prepared in time for forwarding to the International Division in finished form by 27 months from the priority date.