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OCR transcription for search; preserved printed pages are authoritative

# Section 7. RECEIPT AND HANDLING OF MAIL AND PAPERS

7-1.

Administrative Branches

-1-1.
Depositing Papers

By Hand
Post Office

-1-2.
-1-30
-1-4.
Serial Number & Filing Receipt

-1-5.
Register of Applications

-1-8.
"Office Date" Stamp

-1-9.
Completeness of Original Application

Return of Incomplete Application

-1-12.
-1-13.
-1-14.
-1-15.
-20
-2-1 ..
-2-2.

Drafting Branch
Distribution

Papers Sent to Wrong Division
Examining Division

Immediate Inspection of Amendments

Transfer of Improperly Classified Application

.. 2-3 0
-2-40
₩2-50
-2-6.

New Case: Transfer Before Entry

New Case: Not Accepted by Other Division

Classification & Assignment to Assistant
Examiner

Transfer of Application: Notifying
Application Branch

-2-6.1.

-. 2-7.

Transfer of Entire Class or Subclass
Recording Amendments
Mail

.1.
-4-3.
Undelivered

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## 7-1. Administrative Branches

Patent applications are received by the Appli-
cation Branch, where they are inspected to insure essential,
sufficiency as to form prior to consideration by the
natAnt examiners. The Application Branch alan receives
amendments and other correspondence pertaining to pending
applications and distributes them to the various examing
divisions.

7-1-1.
Depositing Papers

The application having been prepared and executed,
it can be sent to the Patent Office by mail or express, or
can be delivered by hand.

(For a discussion of the parts of an application,
and of entries made on the file wrapper, see Section 8 and
Section 10-17. )

Amendments reach the Office by mail, or in
Washington they may be deposited in the Application Branch
or in a box which is kept at the northeast entrance to the
Patent Office on weekdays except on Saturdays when it is
placed at the main entrance .

No papers are received in the Patent Office on
legal holidaye or Sundays.

7.1-26
Depositing Papers By Hand

When the application is delivered by hand, the
Financial Officer receives the fee, notes the fact of its
receipt on the papers, and forwards the application papers
to the Mail Branch which sends them to the Application
Branch together with those received by mail or expresso

The box above mentioned is left open until twelve
o'clock midnight, when it is closed by the watchman. The
key is held by the mail clerl;, and he has the box opened at
8:30 o'clock in the morning of the following business day,
and the contents aro stamped as received on the day of
deposit. All telegrams and special delivery letters re-
coived after Office hours are deposited in this box.

7.1.3.
Depositing Papers Post Office

A pouch for the Patent Office mail is kept at the
Post Office (Rule 1.7) . The mail clerk of the Patent

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Office sends to the Post Office for the Mail at the closo
of Office hours. This is brought to the Patent Office,, and
stamped as of that day. Ordinary mail arriving at the Post
Office thereafter will not be received at the Patent Office
until the next business day.

7-1-4.
Serial Number and Filing Receipt

Each application which meets the formal requirements
as to completeness is immediately given a serial number and
a filing datc. Since the serial numbers are limited to six
digits, a new series is started from time to time. It is
therefore important, when referring to application files,
to identify them by their filing dates as well as by serial
number.

The Application Branch mails a receipt to the
applicant for each application filed, giving the serial
number and filing date.

In the Application Branch the application papers,
with the exception of the drawing, are placed in a jacket
and the data hereinafter listed are placed thereon. (See
Sec. 10-17. )

7-1-5%
Register of Applications

The Chief of the Application Branch assigns the
application to the examing division to which he thinks it
belongs. A list of all applications arranged by serial
numbers as well as an alphabetically arranged card index of
the applications is kept by the Application Branch and the
identification of the Division to which each application is
sent is made part of this record.

7-1-80
"Office Date" Stamp of Receipt

In whatever manner an application or any part thereof,
or an amendment, letter, or other paper is received by the
Office, the date of its receipt is at once stamped thereon
by the Application or Mail Branch, The stamp employed for
this purpose is referred to as the "Office Date" stampo
When stamped on the papers of an application, if the appli ...
cation is complete, this date is the same as the "filing
data" of the application, and established for the applicant
the date of constructive reduction to practice of his
invention.

### 7-1-9. Determination of Completeness of Original Application

If the application papers are too informal to warrant
their being forwarded to the proper examing division, they

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are not given a serial number, but the case is held in the
Application Branch as an incomplete application and the
applicant is informed of the shortcomings of the papers.

Such fatal informality may consist in the omission
of any one of the component parts of an application except
the petition (See Sec. 8), failure of notary to sign the
jurat, execution of oath before a notary who has power of
attorney in the case, failure to present any claim, insuf-
ficient fee, etc.

if the informality consists in a failure to add to
the usual fee of thirty dollars, the dollar for each claim
over twenty, the applicant is informed of that fact and the
application is given as its filing date, the date of the
receipt by the Office of the additional fee, or of an
amendment cancelling the claims in excess of the number
covered by the fee.

If the oath and one of the other component parts of
the application are properly signed by the applicant, his
failure to sign the other parts will not of itself defeat
acceptance as a complete application. Under Rule 8.7 an
application if executed on the "Approved Single Signature
Form" required only a single signature.

7-1-12.
Return of Incomplete Application

If a request is madeg the parts of the incomplete
application are returned to the applicant; otherwise, the
papers are retained in the Application Branch for twelve
months, and then sent to the abandoned files. They may be
used by applicant as part of a complete application if the
missing parts are later supplied. See Rule 8.2.

Whatever fee has been paid is returned to the appli-
cant at the end of twelve months, if no steps have mean-
while been taken, looking to completion of the applicationo
7-1-13.
Drafting Branch

The drawing is sent to the Drafting Branch to be
inspected for formal compliance with the rules. If satis-
factory, it is stamped "Approved, Draftsman,, U. S. Patent
Office" together with the date on the back of each sheet.

If the drawings are so informal that they may not
serve for examination purposes, the Draftsman writes in
lead pencil on the face of the drawing "Inf." ( Informal) .
If the drawings are informal, but may be admitted for
examination purposes the Draftsman adds to his endorsement
of "Inf." the letters "A. F.E." (Admit for Examination) .

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The drawings are then returned to the Application Branch.

Where the drawing is endorsed "Inf." only. the Appli-
cation Branch writes the applicant that the application is
incomplete and will not be given a date and serial number
until a proper drawing is filed. If the drawing is endorsed
"Inf." accompanied by the endorsement "A.F.E." it is accepted
for examination. See 8-9-30.

7-1-14.
Distribution

The Application Branch has permanent prints made of
the drawings of all complete applications and secures the
prints in the file wrappers. The drawings and files are
then assembled and forwarded to the proper examining di-
visionso

In the exceptional case where an application without
a drawing is given a filing date and the examiner subse-
quently requires a drawing, or where for any other reason
a new sheet or drawing is added by amendment, a print of
such drawing is made and forwarded to the division to be
placed in the file as an official paper.

The Mail Branch receives those applications which
arrive by mail or express. The fee is forwardod by that
Branch to the Finance Officer, after entry on the appli.
cation papers and in a record book; while the petition,
specification, oath, and power of attorney, if there be one,
are sent to the Application Branch. If a model is filed,
it is taken to the Model Room with identification card
attached.

When the amendments reach the Application Branch
they are assorted according to the Divisions to which they
belong, and each morning these amendments, together with
such new applications as have been received, are collected
and sent to the respective divisions.

7-1-15.
Papers Sent to Wrong, Divisions

Drawings, amendments and other papers that are de ...
livered to divisions to which they do not belong must be
promptly returned to the Application Clerk, who will im-
mediately refer to the application books, and assign tho
papers to the proper divisione (Order 1552)

7-2.
EXAMINING DIVISION

7 0.1.
Immediate Inspection of Ammendments

When the amendments ronch the divisions to where
they belong, they are put in the files to which they

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pertain, and the files with the unentered amendments are
placed on the Primary's desk for his inspection and such
penciled comments as he may wish to note on the margin of
the amendatory papers. (See 10-16-3 )

Steps to transfer an application, should be taken
promptly on receipt of any amendment thereto which makes
the transfer proper in accordance with the transfer pro-
cedure of sections 7-2-3 and 11-4-7.

# 7-2-2. Transfer of Improperly Classified Application

The Primary Examiners have full authority to accept
any application submitted to them that they believe is
properly classifiable in a class in their division. Only
where there is a difference of opinion amongst Primary Ex-
aminers, should cases be submitted to the Examiner of
Classification.

7-2-3.
New Case: Transfer Before Entry

Upon receiving an application from the Application
Branch and before entering it upon the register, each ex-
aminer will forthwith decide whether it has been properly
assigned to his division. See 11-4-11 and 11-4-13. If in
his opinion the application does not belong to his Division
he will submit it to the examiner of the Division to which
he thinks it belongs.

If the latter agrees to accept the application, the
examiner to whom the application was originally sont has
it entered in a Note Book, or in the index only, of the
"Register of Pending Applications," together with a no-
tation as to the Division to which it is transferred. The
details of the transfer are set forth In the Manual of
Clerical Operations.

7-2-4.
New Case: Not Accepted by Other Division

If, however, no other Division will accept the new
application the clerk makes a complete entry in the "Re-
gister of Pending Applications"; and the Primary Examiner
submits for transfer in accordance with the transfer pro-
cedure outlined in 11-4-70

# 7-2-5. Classification and Assignment to Assistant Examiner

Every application, new or amended and including
the drawings if any, when first assigned to a division
must be classified and assigned to an assistant examinero

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The Principal Examiner assigns them to his assis-
tants, noting in lead pencil in the upper left -hand corner
of the file, the class, and sub-class, to which the case
pertains, and also the numeral of the desk or the initials
of the examiner to whom the case is assigned for examination.

The clerk of the Division records the class and sub-
class on the original drawing and the photographic print
thereof, inserts the page and book number of the application
in the blank space provided on the file wrapper and also
writes this datum and the number of sheets of drawing on
the margin of the first sheet of drawing in accordance with
instructions in Manual of Clerical Operations.

# 7-2-60 Transfer of Application: Notifying Application Branch

Hereafter, applications may be transferred direct
from one division to another without being forwarded
through the Application Branch, the receiving division to
give the customary receipts. The forwarding division shall
make the appropriate endorsements on the file wrappers and
drawings and furnish Application Branch a notice (Form 567)
for each application transferred.

## 7-2-6.1. Transfer of an Entire Class or Subclass

Where an entire class or subclass is transferred
from one division to another, a list (original and two
carbons) of ali pending applications transferred therewith,
designating the respective Divisions from which and to which
transferred, must be prepared by the examiner transferring
the class or subclass. The original is sent to the Appli ..
cation Division and one carbon sent to the division re ...
ceiving, the class.

7-2-7.
Recording Amendments

The files and amendments are turned over to the
clerk, whose duty it is to enter the amendments. The clerk
stamps the amendment with the date of its receipt in the
division.

The date stamp employed by the Division clerk is
called the "Division date" stamp, and indicates the date
on which the particular paper was received in the examining
division. The date indicated by the "Division date" stamp
is usually several days later than that indicated by the
"Office date" stamp. It is important to observe the dis-
tinction between the two date stamps. The "office date"
stamp, placed in the upper left-hand corner, should always
be referred to in writing to the applicant, with regard to

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his amendment.

7-40

# Mail

The stenographer mails a carbon copy of each letter
and action written by the examiners, after approval by the
primary examiner. Details relating to the typing, dating,
entry, etc., of examiners' letters are treated in 10-9-18,
10-9-21.

7-4-36
Undelivered Mail

Letters are sometimes returned to the Office because
the Post Office has not been able to deliver themo The
examiner should use every reasonable means to ascertain the
correct address and forward the letter again, after stamping
it "remailed" with the date thereof and redirecting it if
there be any reason to believe that the letter would reach
applicant at such new address. These facts should be noted
on the file copy of the letter. The six months running
against the application begins with the date of remailingo
(Ex parte Gourtoff, 1924 C.D. 153; 329 O.G. 536%)

If the Office is not finally successful in delivering
the letter, it is placed, with the envelope, in the appli-
cation, which is filed away with the pending files, eventu-
ally to be sent to the Abandoned Files storage room.