by Daniel X. Thomas
The question at stake is the following: do new requests in which claims present in previous requests have been deleted represent an amendment to the party’s case or not?
In other words do the provisions of Art 13 RPBA20 and especially Art 13(2) RPBA20 apply when requests are late filed in appeal?
Position 1 requests with deleted claims do not represent an amendment
Some boards have taken the position that the deletion of method claims,
by Daniel X. Thomas
Brief outline of the case
The patent relates to a handle portion of a hand-held electric tool, whereby the battery pack has a triangular cross-sectional configuration.
Dependent claim 2 as granted was dependent on claim 1 as granted and claim 3 on claim 2.
During OP before the Board,