(a) When no attorney or agent has been appointed, all notices, official letters and other communications in the case will be sent to the applicant, or to the assignee of the entire interest if the applicant or such assignee so request, or to the assignee of an undivided part if the applicant so request, at the post office address of which the Office has been notified in the case. Amendments and other papers filed in the application must be signed by the applicant, or if there is an assignee of an undivided part interest, by the applicant and such assignee, or if there is an assignee of the entire interest, by such assignee.

(b) An applicant who is not represented by a registered attorney or agent may be required to state whether he received assistance in the preparation or prosecution of his application, for which any compensation or consideration was given or charged, and if so, to disclose the name or names of the person or persons providing such assistance. This includes the preparation for the applicant of the specification and amendments or other papers to be filed in the Patent Office, as well as other assistance in such matters, but does not include merely making drawings by draftsmen or stenographic services in typing papers.

[24 F.R. 10332, Dec. 22, 1959, as amended at 29 F.R. 474, Jan. 18, 1964]

actions, or other actions in the case, will be received from him. Double correspondence with an applicant and his attorney or agent, or with two representatives, will not be undertaken. If more than one attorney or agent be appointed, correspondence will be held with the one last appointed unless otherwise requested.

§ 1.36 Revocation of power of attorney or authorization; withdrawal of attorney or agent.

A power of attorney or authorization of agent may be revoked at any stage in the proceedings of a case, and an attorney or agent may withdraw, upon application to and approval by the Commissioner; and when it is so revoked, or the attorney or agent so withdrawn, the Office will communicate directly with the applicant, or with such other attorney or agent as he may appoint. An attorney or agent, except an associate attorney or agent whose address is the same as that of the principal attorney or agent, will be notified of the revocation of his power of attorney or authorization and the applicant will be notified of the withdrawal of the attorney or agent. An assignment will not of itself operate as a revocation of a power or authorization previously given, but the assignee of the entire interest may revoke previous powers and be represented by an attorney or agent of his own selection.

WHO MAY APPLY FOR A PATENT AUTHORITY: §§ 1.41 to 1.47 also issued under 35 U.S.C. 111, 116, 117, 118.

§ 1.41 Applicant for patent.

(a) A patent must be applied for and the application papers must be signed and the necessary oath or declaration executed by the actual inventor in all cases, except as provided by §§ 1.42, 1.43, and 1.47. (See § 1.147.)

(b) Unless the contrary is indicated, the word "applicant” when used in these sections refers to the inventor, joint inventors who have applied for a patent, or to the person mentioned in §§ 1.42, 1.43, or 1.47 who has applied for a patent in place of the inventor.

[24 F.R. 10332, Dec. 22, 1959, as amended at 29 F.R. 18503, Dec. 29, 1964]

and make the necessary oath or declaration, and apply for and obtain the patent. Where the inventor dies during the time intervening between the filing of his application and the granting of a patent thereon, the letters patent may be issued to the legal representative upon proper intervention by him.

[24 F.R. 10332, Dec. 22, 1959, as amended at 29 F.R. 18503, Dec. 29, 1964]

§ 1.43 When the inventor is insane or legally incapacitated.

In case an inventor is insane or otherwise legally incapacitated, the legal representative (guardian, conservator, etc.) of such inventor may sign the application papers and make the necessary oath or declaration, and apply for and obtain the patent.

[24 F.R. 10332, Dec. 22, 1959, as amended at 29 F.R. 18503, Dec. 29, 1964]

§ 1.44 Proof of authority.

In the cases mentioned in §§ 1.42 and 1.43, proof of the power or authority of the legal representative must be recorded in the Patent Office or filed in the application before the grant of a patent. § 1.45

Joint inventors.

(a) Joint inventors must apply for a patent jointly and each must sign the application papers and make the required oath or declaration; neither of them alone, nor less than the entire number, can apply for a patent for an invention invented by them jointly, except as provided in § 1.47.

(b) If an application for patent has been made through error and without any deceptive intention by two or more persons as joint inventors when they were not in fact joint inventors, the application may be amended to remove the names of those not inventors upon filing a statement of the facts verified by all of the original applicants, and an oath or declaration as required by § 1.65 by the applicant who is the actual inventor, provided the amendment is diligently made. Such amendment must have the written consent of any assignee.

(c) If an application for patent has been made through error and without any deceptive intention by less than all the actual joint inventors, the application may be amended to include all the joint inventors upon filing a statement of the facts verified by, and an oath or declaration as required by § 1.65 executed by, all the actual joint inventors, pro

vided the amendment is diligently made. Such amendment must have the written consent of any assignee.

[24 F.R. 10332, Dec. 22, 1959, as amended at 29 F.R. 18503, Dec. 29, 1964]

§ 1.46 Assigned inventions and patents.

In case the whole or a part interest in the invention or in the patent to be issued is assigned, the application must still be made by the inventor or one of the persons mentioned in §§ 1.42, 1.43, or 1.47. However, the patent may be issued to the assignee or jointly to the inventor and the assignee as provided in § 1.334.

§ 1.47

Filing by other than inventor.

(a) If a joint inventor refuses to join in an application for patent or cannot be found or reached after diligent effort, the application may be made by the other inventor on behalf of himself and the omitted inventor. Such application must be accompanied by proof of the pertinent facts and must state the last known address of the omitted inventor. The Patent Office shall forward notice of the filing of the application to the omitted inventor at said address. Should such notice be returned to the Office undelivered, or should the address of the omitted inventor be unknown, notice of the filing of the application shall be published in the Official Gazette. The omitted inventor may subsequently join in the application on filing an oath or declaration of the character required by § 1.65. A patent may be granted to the inventor making the application, upon a showing satisfactory to the Commissioner, subject to the same rights which the omitted inventor would have had if he had been joined.

(b) Whenever an inventor refuses to execute an application for patent, or cannot be found or reached after diligent effort, a person to whom the inventor has assigned or agreed in writing to assign the invention or who otherwise shows sufficient proprietary interest in the matter justifying such action may make application for patent on behalf of and as agent for the inventor. Such application must be accompanied by proof of the pertinent facts and a showing that such action is necessary to preserve the rights of the parties or to prevent irreparable damage, and must state the last known address of the inventor. The assignment, written agreement to assign or other evidence of proprietary interest,

or a verified copy thereof, must be filed in the Patent Office at the time of filing the application. The pages of the specification, including the claims, should be numbered consecutively, starting with 1, the numbers being placed in the center of the bottom margins. The Office shall forward notice of the filing of the application to the inventor at the address stated in the application. Should such notice be returned to the Office undelivered, or should the address of the inventor be unknown, notice of the filing of the application shall be published in the Official Gazette. The inventor may subsequently join in the application on filing an oath or declaration of the character required by § 1.65. A patent may be granted to the inventor upon a showing satisfactory to the Commissioner. [24 F.R. 10332, Dec. 22, 1959, as amended at 29 F.R. 18503, Dec. 29, 1964; 34 F.R. 18857, Nov. 26, 1969]

THE APPLICATION

§ 1.51 General requisites of an application.

Applications for patents must be made to the Commissioner of Patents. A complete application comprises:

(a) A petition or request for a patent, see § 1.61.

(b) A specification, including a claim or claims, see §§ 1.71 to 1.77.

(c) An oath or declaration, see § 1.65. (d) Drawings, when necessary, see §§ 1.81 to 1.88.

(e) The prescribed filing fee, (See § 1.21 for filing fees.)

[24 F.R. 10332, Dec. 22, 1959, as amended at 29 F.R. 18503, Dec. 29, 1964]

§ 1.52 Language, paper, writing, margins.

(a) The petition, specification, and oath or declaration must be in the English language. All papers which are to become a part of the permanent records of the Patent Office must be legibly written or printed in permanent ink.

(b) The specification and claims, and also papers subsequently filed, must be plainly written on but one side of the paper. A wide margin must be reserved on the left-hand side and on the top of each page and the lines must not be crowded too closely together. paper, 8 to 81⁄2 by 121⁄2 to 13 inches, typewritten and double spaced with margins of one and one-half inches on the lefthand side and top is deemed preferable. The pages of the specification, including

Legal

the claims, should be numbered consecutively, starting with 1, the numbers being placed in the center of the bottom margins. Typewritten or printed papers suitable for use by the Office may be required if the papers originally filed are not correctly, legibly and clearly written.

(c) Any interlineation, erasure or cancellation or other alteration made before the application was signed and sworn to, or declaration made, should be clearly referred to in a marginal note or footnote on the same sheet of paper, and initialed or signed and dated by the applicant to indicate such fact. (See § 1.56.) [24 F.R. 10332, Dec. 22, 1959, as amended at 29 F.R. 18503, Dec. 29, 1964; 34 F.R. 18857, Nov. 26, 1969]

§ 1.53 Application accepted and filed for examination only when complete.

(a) An application for a patent will not be accepted and placed upon the files for examination until all its required parts, complying with the rules relating thereto, are received, except that certain minor informalities may be waived subject to subsequent correction whenever required.

(b) If the papers and parts are incomplete, or so defective that they cannot be accepted as a complete application for examination, the applicant will be notified; the papers will be held six months for completion and, if not by then completed, will thereafter be returned or otherwise disposed of; the fee, if submitted, will be refunded.

§ 1.54 Parts of application to be filed together.

It is desirable that all parts of the complete application be deposited in the Office together; otherwise a letter must accompany each part, accurately and clearly connecting it with the other parts of the application.

§ 1.55

Serial number and filing date of application.

(a) Complete applications are numbered in regular order, and the applicant will be informed of the serial number and filing date of the application by a filing receipt. The filing date of the application is the date on which the complete application, acceptable for placing on the files for examination, is received in the Patent Office; or the date on which the last part completing such application is received in the case of an incomplete or defective application completed within six months.

(b) An applicant may claim the benefit of the filing date of a prior foreign application under the conditions specified in 35 U.S.C. 119. The claim to priority need be in no special form and may be made by the attorney or agent if the foreign application is referred to in the oath or declaration as required by § 1.65. The claim for priority and the certified copy of the foreign application specified in the second paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 119 must be filed in the case of interference (§ 1.224); when necessary to overcome the date of a reference relied upon by the examiner; or when specifically required by the examiner; and in all other cases they must be filed not later than the date the issue fee is paid. If the papers filed are not in the English language, a translation need not be filed except in the three particular instances specified in the preceding sentence, in which event a sworn translation or a translation certified as accurate by a sworn or official translator must be filed. (35 U.S.C. 119) [24 F.R. 10332, Dec. 22, 1959, as amended at 34 F.R. 12629, Aug. 2, 1969; 34 F.R. 18857, Nov. 26, 1969]

§ 1.56 Improper applications.

Any application signed or sworn to in blank, or without actual inspection by the applicant, and any application altered or partly filled in after being signed or sworn to, and also any application fraudulently filed or in connection with which any fraud is practiced or attempted on the Patent Office, may be stricken from the files.

§ 1.57 Signature.

The application must be signed by the applicant in person. The signature to the oath or declaration will be accepted as the signature to the application provided the oath or declaration is attached to and refers to the petition, specification and claim to which it applies. Full names must be given, including the full first name without abbreviation, and the middle initial or name if any.

[24 F.R. 10332, Dec. 22, 1959, as amended at 29 F.R. 18503, Dec. 29, 1964]

§ 1.59 Papers of complete application not to be returned.

The papers in a complete application will not be returned for any purpose whatever. If applicants have not preserved copies of the papers, the Office will furnish copies at the usual cost. See 1.87 for return of drawing.

(a) The petition must be addressed to the Commissioner of Patents and request the grant of a patent. The residence, and post office address of the petitioner must appear in the petition if not stated elsewhere in the application. The petition need not be separately signed when part of and attached to the specification and oath or declaration, otherwise it must be signed by the petitioner.

(b) The power of attorney or authorization of agent may be incorporated in the petition.

[24 F.R. 10332, Dec. 22, 1959, as amended at 29 F.R. 18503, Dec. 29, 1964]

STATEMENT; OATH OR DECLARATION

§ 1.65 Statement of applicant.

(a) (1) The applicant, if the inventor must state that he verily believes himself to be the original and first inventor or discoverer of the process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, or improvement thereof, for which he solicits a patent; that he does not know and does not believe that the same was ever known or used in the United States before his invention or discovery thereof, and shall state of what country he is a citizen and where he resides and whether he is a sole or joint inventor of the invention claimed in his application. In every original application the applicant must distinctly state that to the best of his knowledge and belief the invention has not been in public use or on sale in the United States more than one year prior to his application or patented or described in any printed publication in any country before his invention or more than one year prior to his application, or patented in any foreign country prior to the date of his application on an application filed by himself or his legal representatives or assigns more than twelve months prior to his application in this country. He shall state whether or not any application for patent on the same invention has been filed in any foreign country, either by himself, or by his legal representatives or assigns. If any such application has been filed, the applicant shall name the country in which the earliest such application was filed, and shall give the day, month, and year of its filing; he shall also identify by country and by day, month, and year of filing, every

such foreign application filed more than twelve months before the filing of the application in this country. (2) This statement (i) must be subscribed to by the applicant, and (ii) must either (a) be sworn to (or affirmed) as provided in § 1.66, or (b) include the personal declaration of the applicant as prescribed in § 1.68. See § 1.153 for design cases and § 1.162 for plant cases.

(b) If the application is made as provided in §§ 1.42, 1.43, or 1.47, the applicant shall state his relationship to the inventor and, upon information and belief, the facts which the inventor is required by this section to state.

(c) An additional statement may be required if the application has not been filed in the Patent Office within a reasonable time after execution of the original statement.

(Sec. 1, 78 Stat. 171; 35 U.S.C. 25, 26) [29 F.R. 18503, Dec. 29, 1964, as amended at 34 F.R. 18857, Nov. 26, 1969]

(a) The oath or affirmation may be made before any person within the United States authorized by law to administer oaths, or, when made in a foreign country, 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, the oath being 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, all the application papers, except the drawings, must be attached together 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.

(35 U.S.C. 115)

§ 1.67 Supplemental oath or declaration for matter not originally claimed.

(a) When an applicant presents a claim for matter originally shown or described but not substantially embraced in the statement of invention or claim originally presented, he shall file a supplemental oath or declaration to the effect that the subject matter of the proposed amendment was part of his invention; that he does not know and does not believe that the same was ever known or used before his invention or discovery thereof, or patented or described in any printed publication in any country before his invention or discovery thereof, or more than one year before his application, or in public use or on sale in the United States for more than one year before the date of his application, that said invention has not been patented in any foreign country prior to the date of his application in this country on an application filed by himself or his legal representatives or assigns more than twelve months prior to his application in the United States, and has not been abandoned. Such supplemental oath or declaration should accompany and properly identify the proposed amendment, otherwise the proposed amendment may be refused consideration.

(b) In proper cases the oath or declaration here required may be made on information and belief by an applicant other than inventor.

[24 F.R. 10332, Dec. 22, 1959, as amended at 29 F.R. 18503, Dec. 29, 1964] § 1.68

Declaration in lieu of oath.

Any document to be filed in the Patent Office and which is required by any law, rule, or other regulation to be under oath may be subscribed to by a written declaration with the exception of testimony relating to interferences and other contested cases covered by §§ 1.271 to 1.286. Such declaration may be used in