What does the acronym CPA stand for in relation to the application process?

The acronym CPA stands for Continued Prosecution Application. This term refers to a specific type of application used in the United States patent application process. A Continued Prosecution Application allows an applicant to pursue additional claims that are related to the original application without the need to file a new application entirely.

By filing a CPA, an applicant can continue the examination process based on the same submission as the earlier application. This mechanism is particularly useful when an applicant wants to address rejections made by the examiner or refine their claims based on feedback received during the prosecution of the application.

This path helps to streamline the prosecution and can potentially preserve the effective filing date of the original application, which can be essential for establishing priority over subsequent filings. Thus, the Continued Prosecution Application plays a vital role in aiding applicants to efficiently manage their patent applications.