Following the applicant's reply to the first communication, the examiner must re-examine the application taking into account observations or amendments made by the applicant.

In the case of one or more subsidiary request(s) (sometimes referred to as "auxiliary requests") directed to alternative texts for grant of a patent, every such request qualifies as a text submitted or agreed by the applicant within the meaning of Art. 113(2) and therefore must be dealt with in the order indicated or agreed to by the applicant, up to and including the highest-ranking allowable request, if any (see also Legal Advice No. 15/05 (rev. 2), OJ 6/2005, 357 and 15.1).