How to examine supplementary documents in the preliminary examination procedure of utility model patent application?
Examining the application documents for a patent for utility model in accordance with Article 33 of the Patent Law. Within three months after submitting an application for a patent for utility model, and when replying to the examiner's notice before the Patent Office makes a decision to grant the patent right for utility model, the applicant may modify its patent application documents, but the modification shall not exceed the scope recorded in the original specification and claims. If the applicant modifies the application documents by adding contents or direct equivalents that cannot be directly understood by ordinary technicians in the field from the original specification and claims, such modification is considered to be beyond the scope recorded in the original specification and claims. The deletion of one or some features from the application by the applicant may also lead to exceeding the scope recorded in the claims in the original specification. When the specification supplements the technical features recorded in the original claim but not recorded in the original specification, such modification is considered to be beyond the scope recorded in the original claim. When the specification supplements the technical features shown in the attached drawings of the original specification but not recorded in the original specification and claims, the description of the technical content that cannot be directly obtained from the attached drawings of the original specification is added, and this modification is considered to be beyond the scope recorded in the original specification and claims. It should be noted that (1) the modification of obvious errors cannot be considered beyond the scope recorded in the original specification and claims. The so-called obvious error means that the incorrect content can be clearly judged from the context of the original specification and claims, and there is no possibility of other interpretation or modification. (2) For the structure that is clearly visible in the attached drawings and has a unique description, it is allowed to supplement the description and write it into the claim.