What is a continuing application?

A: A Continuation Application is a continuation application for a prior non-provisional application, an international application naming The United States, or an international design application naming the United States (based on The Hague Agreement concerning the International Preservation of Industrial Designs) The International Deposit of Industrial Designs (hereinafter referred to as the International Appearance Application of the Hague Agreement) has once again filed a patent application. The applicant may file a continuing application at any time before the prior application is authorized, abandoned or the review process is terminated. The continuing application has the same description as the earlier application, but has different claims. The continuing application and the prior application must have at least one common inventor. The main purpose of filing a continuing application is to enable the technical features that were not protected in the previous application to be protected in the continuing application. Continuing applications enjoy the filing date of the earlier application, that is, the filing date of the earlier application is the valid U.S. filing date of the later continuing application.

Q: What is a partial continuation application?

A: A Continuing-in-part Application is a new patent application for the same subject matter that is claimed in an earlier non-provisional application, an international application that designates the United States, or an international design application that designates the United States. The difference between the partial continuing application and the continuing application is that the invention content of the partial continuing application repeats some or all of the content of the earlier application, but at the same time adds content that was not disclosed in the earlier application. The newly added content cannot be supported by the earlier application, so the new content cannot enjoy the filing date of the earlier application, and its U.S. effective filing date is the actual U.S. filing date of the continued application of the part; The part that does not belong to the new content may enjoy the filing date of the earlier application according to the continuing application.