INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
NATIONAL LEGISLATION - USA
Patent Laws and Regulations
Regulations: Title 37, Chapter I (Subchapter A,
Parts 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 15, and 15a and Subchapter B); Chapter IV and Chapter V,
Code of Federal Regulations
(Continuation)
37 C.F.R. § 1.56 Duty to disclose information material to
patentability.
(a) A patent by its very nature is affected with a public interest. The public interest is best served, and the most effective patent examination occurs when, at the time an application is being examined, the Office is aware of and evaluates the teachings of all information material to patentability. Each individual associated with the filing and prosecution of a patent application has a duty of candor and good faith in dealing with the Office, which includes a duty to disclose to the Office all information known to that individual to be material to patentability as defined in this section. The duty to disclose information exists with respect to each pending claim until the claim is cancelled or withdrawn from consideration, or the application becomes abandoned. Information material to the patentability of a claim that is cancelled or withdrawn from consideration need not be submitted if the information is not material to the patentability of any claim remaining under consideration in the application. There is no duty to submit information which is not material to the patentability of any existing claim. The duty to disclose all information known to be material to patentability is deemed to be satisfied if all information known to be material to patentability of any claim issued in a patent was cited by the Office or submitted to the Office in the manner prescribed by §§ 1.97(b)-(d) and 1.98. However, no patent will be granted on an application in connection with which fraud on the Office was practiced or attempted or the duty of disclosure was violated through bad faith or intentional misconduct. The Office encourages applicants to carefully examine:
(1) prior art cited in search reports of a foreign patent office in a counterpart application, and
(2) the closest information over which individuals associated with the filing or prosecution of a patent application believe any pending claim patentably defines, to make sure that any material information contained therein is disclosed to the Office.
(b) Under this section, information is material to patentability when it is not cumulative to information already of record or being made of record in the application, and
(1) It establishes, by itself or in combination with other information, a prima facie case of unpatentability of a claim; or
(2) It refutes, or is inconsistent with, a position the applicant takes in:
(i) Opposing an argument of unpatentability relied on by the Office, or
(ii) Asserting an argument of patentability.
A prima facie case of unpatentability is established when the information compels a conclusion that a claim is unpatentable under the preponderance of evidence, burden-of-proof standard, giving each term in the claim its broadest reasonable construction consistent with the specification, and before any consideration is given to evidence which may be submitted in an attempt to establish a contrary conclusion of patentability.
(c) Individuals associated with the filing or prosecution of a patent application within the meaning of this section are:
(1) Each inventor named in the application;
(2) Each attorney or agent who prepares or prosecutes the application; and
(3) Every other person who is substantively involved in the preparation or prosecution of the application and who is associated with the inventor, with the assignee or with anyone to whom there is an obligation to assign the application.
(d) Individuals other than the attorney, agent or inventor may comply with this section by disclosing information to the attorney, agent, or inventor.
[57 FR 2034, Jan. 17, 1992]
37 C.F.R. § 1.57 [Reserved]
[24 FR 10332, Dec. 22, 1959, as amended at 54 FR 34880, Aug. 22, 1989; 55 FR 18245, May 1, 1990]
37 C.F.R. § 1.58 Chemical and mathematical formulae and tables.
(a) The specification, including the claims, may contain chemical and mathematical formulas, but shall not contain drawings or flow diagrams. The description portion of the specification may contain tables; claims may contain tables either if necessary to conform to 35 U.S.C. 112 or if otherwise found to be desirable.
(b) [Removed and reserved. See 61 FR 42790, 42803, Aug. 19, 1996.]
(c) Chemical and mathematical formulae and tables must be presented in compliance with § 1.52 (a) and (b), except that chemical and mathematical formulae or tables may be placed in a landscape orientation if they cannot be presented satisfactorily in a portrait orientation. Typewritten characters used in such formulae and tables must be chosen from a block (nonscript) type font or lettering style having capital letters which are at least 0.21 cm. (0.08 inch) high (e.g., elite type). A space at least 0.64 cm. (1/4 inch) high should be provided between complex formulae and tables and the text. Tables should have the lines and columns of data closely spaced to conserve space, consistent with a high degree of legibility.
[43 FR 20463, May 11, 1978; 61 FR 42790, 42803, Aug. 19, 1996]
37 C.F.R. § 1.59 Expungement of information or copy of papers in application file.
(a)
(1) Information in an application will not be expunged and returned, except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section. See § 1.618 for return of unauthorized and improper papers in interferences.
(2) Information forming part of the original disclosure (i.e., written specification including the claims, drawings, and any preliminary amendment specifically incorporated into an executed oath or declaration under §§ 1.63 and 1.175) will not be expunged from the application file.
(b) Information, other than what is excluded by paragraph (a)(2) of this section, may be requested to be expunged and returned to applicant upon petition under this paragraph and payment of the petition fee set forth in § 1.17(i). Any petition to expunge and return information from an application must establish to the satisfaction of the Commissioner that the return of the information is appropriate.
(c) Upon request by an applicant and payment of the fee specified in § 1.19(b), the Office will furnish copies of an application, unless the application has been disposed of (see § 1.53 (e), (f) and (g)). The Office cannot provide or certify copies of an application that has been disposed of.
[49 FR 48452, Dec. 12, 1984; 50 FR 23123, May 31, 1985; 60 FR 20224, Apr. 25, 1995; 62 FR 53132, 53188, Oct. 10, 1997]
37 C.F.R. § 1.60 [This
section was removed and reserved.]
[50 FR 9379, Mar. 7, 1985, as amended at 54 FR 47519, Nov. 15, 1989; 57 FR 56447, Nov. 30, 1992; 60 FR 20224, Apr. 25, 1995; 62 FR 53132, 53188, Oct. 10, 1997]
37 C.F.R. § 1.61 [Reserved]
[24 FR 10332, Dec. 22, 1959, as amended at 54 FR 34880, Aug. 22, 1989; 55 FR 18245, May 1, 1990]
37 C.F.R. § 1.62 [This section was removed and reserved.]
[48 FR 2710, Jan. 20, 1983, as amended at 49 FR 555, Jan. 4, 1984; 50 FR 9380, Mar. 7, 1985; 54 FR 47519, Nov. 15, 1989; 60 FR 20225, Apr. 25, 1995; 61 FR 42790, 42803, Aug. 19, 1996; 62 FR 53132, 53188, Oct. 10, 1997]
37 C.F.R. § 1.63 Oath or declaration.
(a) An oath or declaration filed under § 1.51(b)(2) as a part of an application must:
(1) Be executed in accordance with either § 1.66 or § 1.68;
(2) Identify the specification to which it is directed;
(3) Identify each inventor by: full name, including the family name, and at least one given name without abbreviation together with any other given name or initial, and the residence, post office address and country of citizenship of each inventor; and
(4) State whether the inventor is a sole or joint inventor of the invention claimed.
(b) In addition to meeting the requirements of paragraph (a), the oath or declaration must state that the person making the oath or declaration:
(1) Has reviewed and understands the contents of the specification, including the claims, as amended by any amendment specifically referred to in the oath or declaration;
(2) Believes the named inventor or inventors to be the original and first inventor or inventors of the subject matter which is claimed and for which a patent is sought; and
(3) Acknowledges the duty to disclose to the Office all information known to the person to be material to patentability as defined in § 1.56.
(c) In addition to meeting the requirements of paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section, the oath or declaration in any application in which a claim for foreign priority is made pursuant to § 1.55 must identify the foreign application for patent or inventor's certificate on which priority is claimed, and any foreign application having a filing date before that of the application on which priority is claimed, by specifying the application number, country, day, month and year of its filing.
(d)
(1) A newly executed oath or declaration is not required under § 1.51(b)(2) and § 1.53(f) in a
continuation or divisional application, provided that:
(i) The prior nonprovisional application contained an oath or declaration as prescribed by paragraphs (a) through (c) of this section;
(ii) The continuation or divisional application was filed by all or by fewer than all of the inventors named in the prior application;
(iii) The specification and drawings filed in the continuation or divisional application contain no matter that would have been new matter in the prior application; and
(iv) A copy of the executed oath or declaration filed in the prior application, showing the signature or an indication thereon that it was signed, is submitted for the continuation or divisional application.
(2) The copy of the executed oath or declaration submitted under this paragraph for a continuation or divisional application must be accompanied by a statement requesting the deletion of the name or names of the person or persons who are not inventors in the continuation or divisional application.
(3) Where the executed oath or declaration of which a copy is submitted for a continuation or divisional application was originally filed in a prior application accorded status under § 1.47, the copy of the executed oath or declaration for such prior application must be accompanied by:
(i) A copy of the decision granting a petition to accord § 1.47 status to the prior application, unless all inventors or legal representatives have filed an oath or declaration to join in an application accorded status under § 1.47 of which the continuation or divisional application claims a benefit under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, or 365(c); and
(ii) If one or more inventor(s) or legal representative(s) who refused to join in the prior application or could not be found or reached has subsequently joined in the prior application or another application of which the continuation or divisional application claims a benefit under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, or 365(c), a copy of the subsequently executed oath(s) or declaration(s) filed by the inventor or legal representative to join in the application.
(4) Where the power of attorney (or authorization of agent) or correspondence address was changed during the prosecution of the prior application, the change in power of attorney (or authorization of agent) or correspondence address must be identified in the continuation or divisional application. Otherwise, the Office may not recognize in the continuation or divisional application the change of power of attorney (or authorization of agent) or correspondence address during the prosecution of the prior application.
(5) A newly executed oath or declaration must be filed in a continuation or divisional application naming an inventor not named in the prior application.
(e) A newly executed oath or declaration must be filed in any continuation-in-part application, which application may name all, more, or fewer than all of the inventors named in the prior application. The oath or declaration in any continuation-in-part application must also state that the person making the oath or declaration acknowledges the duty to disclose to the Office all information known to the person to be material to patentability as defined in § 1.56 which became available between the filing date of the prior application and the national or PCT international filing date of the continuation-in-part application.
[48 FR 2711, Jan. 20, 1983; 48 FR 4285, Jan. 31, 1983; 57 FR 2034, Jan. 17, 1992; 60 FR 20225, Apr. 25, 1995; 62 FR 53132, 53188, Oct. 10, 1997]
37 C.F.R. § 1.64 Person making oath or declaration.
(a) The oath or declaration must be made by all of the actual inventors except as provided for in §§ 1.42, 1.43, or 1.47.
(b) If the person making the oath or declaration is not the inventor (§§ 1.42, 1.43, or 1.47), the oath or declaration shall state the relationship of the person to the inventor and, upon information and belief, the facts which the inventor is required to state.
[48 FR 2711, Jan. 20, 1983]
37 C.F.R. § 1.66 Officers authorized to administer oaths.
(a) The oath or affirmation may be made before any person within the United States authorized by law to administer oaths. An oath made in a foreign country may be made before any diplomatic or consular officer of the United States authorized to administer oaths, or before any officer having an official seal and authorized to administer oaths in the foreign country in which the applicant may be, whose authority shall be proved by a certificate of a diplomatic or consular officer of the United States, or by an apostille of an official designated by a foreign country which, by treaty or convention, accords like effect to apostilles of designated officials in the United States. The oath shall be attested in all cases in this and other countries, by the proper official seal of the officer before whom the oath or affirmation is made. Such oath or affirmation shall be valid as to execution if it complies with the laws of the State or country where made. When the person before whom the oath or affirmation is made in this country is not provided with a seal, his official character shall be established by competent evidence, as by a certificate from a clerk of a court of record or other proper officer having a seal.
(b) When the oath is taken before an officer in a country foreign to the United States, any accompanying application papers, except the drawings, must be attached together with the oath and a ribbon passed one or more times through all the sheets of the application, except the drawings, and the ends of said ribbon brought together under the seal before the latter is affixed and impressed, or each sheet must be impressed with the official seal of the officer before whom the oath is taken. If the papers as filed are not properly ribboned or each sheet impressed with the seal, the case will be accepted for examination, but before it is allowed, duplicate papers, prepared in compliance with the foregoing sentence, must be filed.
[47 FR 41275, Sept. 17, 1982]
37 C.F.R. § 1.67 Supplemental oath or declaration.
(a) A supplemental oath or declaration meeting the requirements of § 1.63 may be required to be filed to correct any deficiencies or inaccuracies present in an earlier filed oath or declaration.
(b) A supplemental oath or declaration meeting the requirements of § 1.63 must be filed when a claim is presented for matter originally shown or described but not substantially embraced in the statement of invention or claims originally presented or when an oath or declaration submitted in accordance with § 1.53(f) after the filing of the specification and any required drawings specifically and improperly refers to an amendment which includes new matter. No new matter may be introduced into a nonprovisional application after its filing date even if a supplemental oath or declaration is filed. In proper situations, the oath or declaration here required may be made on information and belief by an applicant other than the inventor.
(c) A supplemental oath or declaration meeting the requirements of § 1.63 must also be filed if the application was altered after the oath or declaration was signed or if the oath or declaration was signed:
(1) In blank;
(2) Without review thereof by the person making the oath or declaration; or
(3) Without review of the specification, including the claims, as required by § 1.63(b)(1).
[48 FR 2711, Jan. 20, 1983, as amended at 57 FR 2034, Jan. 17, 1992; 60 FR 20225, Apr. 25, 1995; 62 FR 53132, 53189, Oct. 10, 1997]
37 C.F.R. § 1.68 Declaration in lieu of oath.
Any document to be filed in the Patent and Trademark Office and which is required by any law, rule, or other regulation to be under oath may be subscribed to by a written declaration. Such declaration may be used in lieu of the oath otherwise required, if, and only if, the declarant is on the same document, warned that willful false statements and the like are punishable by fine or imprisonment, or both (18 U.S.C. 1001) and may jeopardize the validity of the application or any patent issuing thereon. The declarant must set forth in the body of the declaration that all statements made of the declarant's own knowledge are true and that all statements made on information and belief are believed to be true.
[49 FR 48452, Dec. 12, 1984]
37 C.F.R. § 1.69 Foreign language oaths and declarations.
(a) Whenever an individual making an oath or declaration cannot understand English, the oath or declaration must be in a language that such individual can understand and shall state that such individual understands the content of any documents to which the oath or declaration relates.
(b) Unless the text of any oath or declaration in a language other than English is a form provided or approved by the Patent and Trademark Office, it must be accompanied by an English translation together with a statement that the translation is accurate, except that in the case of an oath or declaration filed under § 1.63, the translation may be filed in the Office no later than two months from the date applicant is notified to file the translation.
[42 FR 5594, Jan. 28, 1977, as amended at 48 FR 2711, Jan. 20, 1983; 62 FR 53132, 53189, Oct. 10, 1997]
37 C.F.R. § 1.70 [Reserved]
[24 FR 10332, Dec. 22, 1959, as amended at 54 FR 34880, Aug. 22, 1989; 55 FR 18245, May 1, 1990]
37 C.F.R. § 1.71 Detailed description and specification of the invention.
(a) The specification must include a written description of the invention or discovery and of the manner and process of making and using the same, and is required to be in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art or science to which the invention or discovery appertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same.
(b) The specification must set forth the precise invention for which a patent is solicited, in such manner as to distinguish it from other inventions and from what is old. It must describe completely a specific embodiment of the process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter or improvement invented, and must explain the mode of operation or principle whenever applicable. The best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention must be set forth.
(c) In the case of an improvement, the specification must particularly point out the part or parts of the process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter to which the improvement relates, and the description should be confined to the specific improvement and to such parts as necessarily cooperate with it or as may be necessary to a complete understanding or description of it.
(d) A copyright or mask work notice may be placed in a design or utility patent application adjacent to copyright and mask work material contained therein. The notice may appear at any appropriate portion of the patent application disclosure. For notices in drawings, see § 1.84(s). The content of the notice must be limited to only those elements provided for by law. For example, “copyright 1983 John Doe” (17 U.S.C. 401) and “ *M* John Doe” (17 U.S.C. 909) would be properly limited and, under current statutes, legally sufficient notices of copyright and mask work, respectively. Inclusion of a copyright or mask work notice will be permitted only if the authorization language set forth in paragraph (e) of this section is included at the beginning (preferably as the first paragraph) of the specification.
(e) The authorization shall read as follows:
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to (copyright or mask work) protection. The (copyright or mask work) owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all (copyright or mask work) rights whatsoever.
[24 FR 10332, Dec. 22, 1959, as amended at 53 FR 47808, Nov. 28, 1988; 58 FR 38723, July 20, 1993]
37 C.F.R. § 1.72 Title and abstract.
(a) The title of the invention, which should be as short and specific as possible, should appear as a heading on the first page of the specification, if it does not otherwise appear at the beginning of the application.
(b) A brief abstract of the technical disclosure in the specification must commence on a separate sheet, preferably following the claims, under the heading “Abstract of the Disclosure.” The purpose of the abstract is to enable the Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and gist of the technical disclosure. The abstract shall not be used for interpreting the scope of the claims.
[31 FR 12922, Oct. 4, 1966, as amended at 43 FR 20464, May 11, 1978; 61 FR 42790, 42803, Aug. 19, 1996]
37 C.F.R. § 1.73 Summary of the invention.
A brief summary of the invention indicating its nature and substance, which may include a statement of the object of the invention, should precede the detailed description. Such summary should, when set forth, be commensurate with the invention as claimed and any object recited should be that of the invention as claimed.
[24 FR 10332, Dec. 22, 1959, as amended at 54 FR 34880, Aug. 22, 1989; 55 FR 18245, May 1, 1990]
37 C.F.R. § 1.74 Reference to drawings.
When there are drawings, there shall be a brief description of the several views of the drawings and the detailed description of the invention shall refer to the different views by specifying the numbers of the figures and to the different parts by use of reference letters or numerals (preferably the latter).
[24 FR 10332, Dec. 22, 1959, as amended at 54 FR 34880, Aug. 22, 1989; 55 FR 18245, May 1, 1990]
37 C.F.R. § 1.75 Claim(s).
(a) The specification must conclude with a claim particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention or discovery.
(b) More than one claim may be presented provided they differ substantially from each other and are not unduly multiplied.
(c) One or more claims may be presented in dependent form, referring back to and further limiting another claim or claims in the same application. Any dependent claim which refers to more than one other claim (“multiple dependent claim”) shall refer to such other claims in the alternative only. A multiple dependent claim shall not serve as a basis for any other multiple dependent claim. For fee calculation purposes under § 1.16, a multiple dependent claim will be considered to be that number of claims to which direct reference is made therein. For fee calculation purposes, also, any claim depending from a multiple dependent claim will be considered to be that number of claims to which direct reference is made in that multiple dependent claim. In addition to the other filing fees, any original application which is filed with, or is amended to include, multiple dependent claims must have paid therein the fee set forth in § 1.16(d). Claims in dependent form shall be construed to include all the limitations of the claim incorporated by reference into the dependent claim. A multiple dependent claim shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of each of the particular claims in relation to which it is being considered.
(d)
(1) The claim or claims must conform to the invention as set forth in the remainder of the
specification and the terms and phrases used in the claims must find clear support or antecedent basis in the description so that the meaning of the terms in the claims may be ascertainable by reference to the description. (See § 1.58(a).)
(2) See §§ 1.141 to 1.146 as to claiming different inventions in one application.
(e) Where the nature of the case admits, as in the case of an improvement, any independent claim should contain in the following order:
(1) A preamble comprising a general description of all the elements or steps of the claimed combination which are conventional or known,
(2) a phrase such as “wherein the improvement comprises,” and
(3) those elements, steps and/or relationships which constitute that portion of the claimed combination which the applicant considers as the new or improved portion.
(f) If there are several claims, they shall be numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals.
(g) The least restrictive claim should be presented as claim number 1, and all dependent claims should be grouped together with the claim or claims to which they refer to the extent practicable.
(h) The claim or claims must commence on a separate sheet.
(i) Where a claim sets forth a plurality of elements or steps, each element or step of the claim should be separated by a line indentation.
[31 FR 12922, Oct. 4, 1966, as amended at 36 FR 12690, July 3, 1971; 37 FR 21995, Oct. 18, 1972; 43 FR 4015, Jan. 31, 1978; 47 FR 41276, Sept. 17, 1982; 61 FR 42790, 42803, Aug. 19, 1996]
Continuation: 37 C.F.R. § 1.77 Arrangement of
application elements.