When can preliminary amendments be filed?

Preliminary amendments can be filed along with the patent application, which allows applicants to make modifications or clarifications to their claims or specification before the application is initially examined. This flexibility benefits applicants by enabling them to address any potential issues or refine their inventions before the Office takes further action.

In essence, filing a preliminary amendment at the time of application submission is a strategic move that can help streamline the examination process and help ensure that the application reflects the inventors' intentions more accurately from the outset.

Other options do not align with the rules governing preliminary amendments. For instance, those amendments are not limited to a specific stage like after the first Office action or solely before submission; they can be included with the application itself.