Which is NOT a provision of 37 CFR 1.131?

The correct answer highlights that the provision allowing inventors to "reset their filing date" is not included in 37 CFR 1.131. Instead, this regulation focuses on mechanisms available to applicants when dealing with certain rejections based on prior art.

37 CFR 1.131 primarily governs situations where an applicant is responding to a reference that could impact the novelty of their invention. It allows the submission of a declaration intended to contest the effective filing date of that reference. Moreover, it provides a means for applicants to "swear behind" a prior art reference, which involves demonstrating that their invention was conceived or reduced to practice prior to the date of the cited reference, effectively circumventing the rejection based on that prior art.

Additionally, it is important to note that 37 CFR 1.131 does not create or establish criteria for filing an interference, which is covered under separate rules. Interference proceedings deal with determining who is entitled to a patent when more than one party claims to have invented the same subject matter.

Thus, the focus of 37 CFR 1.131 is on addressing and contesting the effects of prior art references rather than altering filing dates, which clarifies why the option concerning "resetting" a filing date does