2003 Amendments in a Revised Format Now Permitted

In January 2003, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office thankfully revised the amendment format to remove the requirement for both a clean version and a marked up version of the claims. A Pre-OG Notice can be found here:

http://www.patentsusa.com/20030131_Amendments_Revised.pdf

The new format, required that sections begin on separate sheets, required only one version (with markings) of amended claims, paragraphs, or sections, and required a completed listing of claims if an amendment added, changed, or deleted any claim.

A limited number of specified status indicators (e.g., Original, Currently Amended, Previously Amended, Cancelled, Withdrawn, etc.) were provided. This list of indicators was later revised.