2.11.12 Complete Application Treated as a Provisional

Under sec 37, an applicant may request that a complete application be treated as a provisional application.  Such requests are handled by COG.  

If examiners receive a case for examination containing a request under sec 37 which has not been actioned, the matter should be referred to COG.  

It is not necessary for a request under sec 37 to include a sec 104 request to amend the patent request. Under sec 37(4), once the request has been processed, the complete application is to be taken for the purposes of the Act to be and to have always been a provisional application.  Where the original patent request stated that the complete application was associated with a provisional, or was a divisional, an additional or a Convention application, this information will in general no longer be relevant.  However, if circumstances arise in which that information could potentially be relevant, an amendment of the patent request may be required.

The question of priority dates of any claims is determined by the actual dates on which the specifications were filed and not the date on which the complete application is treated as a provisional application.  Priority dates are governed by sec 43.

The originally filed complete specification which is to be treated as a provisional specification will not be examined, except where examination has been requested and an examination report issued prior to a request under sec 37.