Last year we submitted claims in an application identical to those allowed at the EPO, and told the examiner that when the European Patent granted, we'd file a request for allowance under section 17(c) of the statute. The examiner then issued a notice of allowance under 17(c). Since the notice was premature - the EP hadn't been granted yet, and 17(c) says such allowance must be based on a granted patent (which the ILPTO takes to mean not a mere notice of allowance) - we requested withdrawal from allowance. The ILPTO acquiesced.
In the interim, the European patent granted. I went to submit the 17(c) request now, and the system tells me, "Nyeah nyeah nyeah, you can't file that right now, pfffffft!" Why not? There's nothing in the statute that says we can't file such a request. Oh right, the people at the ILPTO and programmers didn't ask us users for input. And, in their omniscience, they can anticipate all possible situations, and dictate when we can file certain document and when we can't. Even if it's not in accordance with the statute.
So I submitted the document under a different heading that the system did let me file. I then called the examiner's ILPTO phone number to leave a voice message telling her what's going on, so she'll pick up the case and allow it. But I don't get voicemail, I get the examiner, so I mention the application number and she cuts me off and says, "It's after business hours." To which ask, "So why did you answer? I called your work phone expecting to leave a voice message." She explained that there are certain days on which she works from home, in which case calls to her office phone are forwarded to her personal cell phone, and she has no way of knowing if it's an incoming office call or an incoming personal call. Nice. Even nicer, she tells me that she doesn't check her voicemail anyway, so it wouldn't have mattered if the call had gone to voicemail.
I sent her an email explaining the situation. I hope she reads it.