5. Amendments to drawings 

It sometimes occurs that the drawings used for publication of the application are not those originally filed but are subsequently filed drawings, because the latter are more suitable for reproduction (for drawings filed under Rule 56, see A‑II, 5 and subsections and for drawings filed under Rule 56a, see A‑II, 6 and subsections). In this case, the formalities officer in the Receiving Section will check that the subsequently filed drawings are identical to the originals.

However, the ultimate responsibility for ensuring that the subsequently filed drawings do not contain new technical information, which would conflict with Art. 123(2), rests with the examining division.

If the examining division considers that these drawings conflict with Art. 123(2), it requires the applicant to submit other drawings which correspond exactly in substance to the drawings originally filed.

It is not normally possible under Art. 123(2) to add completely new drawings to an application, since in most cases a new drawing cannot be unambiguously derivable from the mere text of the description. For the same reasons, amendments to drawings are carefully checked for compliance with Art. 123(2).