1.115—Preliminary amendments.
(a)
A preliminary amendment is an amendment that is received in the Office ( § 1.6) on or before the mail date of the first Office action under § 1.104. The patent application publication may include preliminary amendments ( § 1.215(a) ).
(1)
A preliminary amendment that is present on the filing date of an application is part of the original disclosure of the application.
(2)
A preliminary amendment filed after the filing date of the application is not part of the original disclosure of the application.
(b)
A preliminary amendment in compliance with § 1.121 will be entered unless disapproved by the Director.
(1)
A preliminary amendment seeking cancellation of all the claims without presenting any new or substitute claims will be disapproved.
(2)
A preliminary amendment may be disapproved if the preliminary amendment unduly interferes with the preparation of a first Office action in an application. Factors that will be considered in disapproving a preliminary amendment include:
(i)
The state of preparation of a first Office action as of the date of receipt ( § 1.6) of the preliminary amendment by the Office; and
(ii)
The nature of any changes to the specification or claims that would result from entry of the preliminary amendment.
(3)
A preliminary amendment will not be disapproved under (b)(2) of this section if it is filed no later than:
(iii)
Three months from the date the national stage is entered as set forth in § 1.491 in an international application.