"(e) was described in a published or publicly available United States patent application or United States patent, which has an actual filing date in the United States (or a prior filing date arising under section 119 of this title) before the invention thereof by the inventor named in the application, or "(f) was not invented by the person named as inventor in the application, or "(g) was invented by another person before the alleged invention thereof by the inventor named in the application, unless such other person himself suppressed or concealed it or has terminated activity with respect to the subject matter in circumstances establishing his intent not to resume such activity. “§ 103. Conditions for patentability; nonobvious subject matter "A patent may not be obtained though the subject matter sought to be patented is not disclosed or described as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. "§ 104. Date of invention; priority "(a) No date of invention shall be accorded any applicant, with respect to the subject matter of this part of this title, which is more than one year earlier than the date on which his application was filed or, in the case of a continuing application, more than one year earlier than the date on which his immediately preceding parent application was filed. "(b) The Office shall determine priority of invention between or among applicants for claims on substantially the same subject matter on the basis of rules and regulations which the Commissioner shall prescribe, in accordance with the procedures specified pursuant to section 136 of this title. Such rules and regulations shall make dispositive the respective dates of filing, first, and reduction to practice, second, insofar as the same is consistent with subsection (a) of this section. "(c) An applicant who seeks to establish patentability based on a showing of any novel or unexpected property or result of the substantial superiority of any known or obvious property or result shall be entitled to claim priority for, or otherwise rely on, an application (whether filed in the United States or in a foreign country), only if it discloses each and every such property or result so relied upon. "(d) To constitute disclosure or description for the purposes of sections 102 and 103 of this chapter, any description of any manufacture or composition of matter needed not describe or disclose how to make or use such manufacture or composition of matter. "(e) Patentability shall not be found in the perception of a problem the solution of which is obvious. "Sec. "CHAPTER 11.-APPLICATION FOR PATENT "111. Application for patent. "112. Specification. "113. Drawings. "114. Models, specimens. "115. Oath of invention. "116. Joint inventors. "117. Death or incapacity of inventor. "119. Benefit of earlier filing date in foreign country; right of priority. "120. Benefit of earlier filing date in the United States. “122. Public availability, publication and confidential status of application. "§ 111. Application for patent "(a) An application for patent may be filed by any person claiming to have invented the subject matter sought to be patented, or his assignee or other successor in title. The application shall be made in writing to the Commissioner, shall be signed by the applicant and include the name of each person believed to have made an inventive contribution, and shall be accompanied by the prescribed fee. An application filed by a person not the inventor shall 23-932-74-2 include, at the time of filing, a statement of the facts supporting the allegation of assignment and ownership of the subject matter sought to be patented. "(b) An application for patent shall include "(1) a specification as prescribed by section 112 of this chapter; and "(3) an oath as prescribed by section 115 of this chapter. "(c) When the application is signed by or on behalf of the assignee, or other successor in title, he shall, within thirty days after filing an application for patent, serve a copy of the application on the inventor along with a statement calling the inventor's attention to the provisions of subsection (d) of this section. Service may be affected by mailing a copy of the application and statement, by first-class mail, to the last known address of the inventor. Failure to serve a copy of the application and statement on the inventor within thirty days shall result in abandonment of the application. The Commissioner may by regulation require proof of such service, and may extend the thirty-day period or waive the requirement for service upon a showing of sufficient cause. "(d) An inventor, within a time prescribed by the Commissioner, may furnish a verified written notice to the Commissioner alleging that the applicant is not the assignee of the subject matter of the application as required by subsection (a) of this section. The Commissioner, in accordance with such regulations as he establishes and on the applicant's compliance with the requirement of this title, shall issue a patent to the inventor filing such written notice, without prejudice to later judicial proceedings, unless the notice is withdrawn by the inventor or the applicant records in the Patent Office an assignment by the inventor, or in lieu thereof, files a written statement by the inventor consenting to the filing of the application by and the issuance of the patent to the applicant. "(e) Notice to the Commissioner, in a manner prescribed by regulations, of a final decision in a judicial proceeding in a court having jurisdiction thereof, from which no appeal has or can be taken, that an applicant is the assignee or owner of the subject matter of the application shall constitute an assignment to such applicant of his application therefor. "§ 112. Specification "(a) The specification shall contain a written description of the subject matter sought to be patented; of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same; and of all its novel or unexpected properties or results, and all its substantially superior known or obvious properties or results, on which patentability is to be based or upheld. The specification shall include each date or dates of invention, for each claim thereof, on which the applicant intends to rely, including any date of reduction to practice. The specification shall further include as a separate portion thereof, designated as such, a description of the best modes known or contemplated by the inventor and applicant of making, using, and commercially working the subject matter sought to be patented, together with all know-how known to the inventor and applicant necessary or commercially requisite to make use, and work the same. The primary examiner may require the applicant to support any factual assertion with empirical data and by an affidavit from an affiant with personal knowledge of the facts thereof. "(b) The specification shall specifically note what is known to the inventor and applicant to be conventional or old, or which is obvious therefrom and it shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor regards as his invention. Any new use of a known machine, manufacture, composition of matter, or material must be claimed as a process (as defined in section 100 (b) of this title), and may not be claimed as a machine, manufacture, or other product. The claim or claims must include only matter set forth in the remainder of the specification. The range of equivalents to which any element of any claim shall be accorded shall be that expressly set forth in the specification as relating thereto. A claim may be written in independent or, if the nature of the case admits, in dependent form. If the claim is in dependent form, it shall be construed to include all the limitations of the claim incorporated by reference into the dependent claim. "(c) An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital in the claim of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification. "(d) Where the nature of the case admits, any independent claim shall contain, in the following order: "(1) a preamble including a description of all the elements or steps of the claimed subject matter which are conventional or old, "(2) a phase such as 'wherein the improvement comprises,' and "(3) those elements, steps, and/or relationships among them and/or between them and the elements or steps set forth in the preamble, which constitute that portion of the subject matter of the claim embodying the inventive contribution. No claim shall consist of a mere aggregation of a number of old parts or elements, or steps, some or all of which, in the aggregation, perform or produce, or act together to perform or produce, no new or different function or operation than that theretofore performed or produced by such old parts or elements, or steps. Where an improvement is in one part or element of an old combination, or step of an old process, the improvement shall be claimed as such and shall not be claimed as a combination with other old parts or elements, or steps, which perform no new function in the combination. "(e) When the subject matter sought to be patented relates to a process involving the action of a micro-organism not already known and available to the public or to a product of such a process, the written description required by subsection (a) of this section shall be sufficient as to said microorganism, if— "(1) not later than the date that the United States application is filed, an approved deposit of a culture of the micro-organism is made by or on behalf of the applicant or his predecessor in title, and "(2) the written description includes the name of the depository and its designation of the approved deposit and, taken as a whole, is in such descriptive terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which such subject matter pertains to make and use the best mode known or contemplated by the inventor and applicant of making, using, and commercially working the same. An approved deposit shall be a deposit which "(1) is made in any public depository in the United States which shall have been designated for such deposits by the Commissioner of Patents by publication, and "(2) is available, except as otherwise prohibited by law, in accordance with such regulations as may be prescribed, "(A) to the public upon issuance of a United States patent to the applicant or his predecessor or successor in title which refers to such deposit, or "(B) prior to publication of said patent, as specified in section 122 of this title. "(f) For the dissemination of information and other purposes, the Commissioner, in accordance with such regulations as he establishes, may require a brief abstract of all or part of the application. The abstract shall not be used for interpreting the scope of any claims of a patent, nor shall it affect in any way the validity or infringement of the patent. " 113. Drawings "When the nature of the case admits, the applicant shall furnish a drawing. "§ 114. Models, specimens "(a) The primary examiner may require the applicant to furnish a model of convenient size to exhibit advantageously the several parts of the subject matter sought to be patented. "(b) The primary examiner may also require the applicant to furnish specimens or ingredients for the purpose of inspection or experiment. "(c) For the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of this title with respect to any drug or subject matter for which therapeutic utility is asserted by the applicant, the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration shall, upon request of the Patent Office and notwithstanding any other provision of law: "(1) furnish all information of, and available to, the Food and Drug Administration, "(2) conduct through the appropriate bureau or division of the Food and Drug Administration research upon special problems (including evaluation of the utility, safety, or efficacy of such drugs), and "(3) detail to the Patent Office officers and employees of the Food and Drug Administration as may be necessary to accomplish the purposes of this title. "§ 115. Oath of invention "(a) The inventor, the applicant, if not the inventor, and each of the agents, or attorneys or other persons recognized under section 31 of this title who participated in the preparation or prosecution of the application, or in any other proceeding before the Patent Office, has an uncompromising duty to act with the highest degree of candor and good faith toward the Patent Office and to disclose to the Patent Office (i) all information known to him conconcerning possible fraud or inequitableness underlying the application in issue and (ii) all information known to him necessary to make the application as a whole not misleading. Additionally : "(1) Each inventor, at the time the application is filed, shall make oath that he believes himself to be the original and first inventor, and that he is aware of no prior public use or other material information which would adversely affect the issuance of the patent to the applicant; and shall state of what country he is a citizen. The inventor, after the notice of allowance, shall reaffirm the original oath and further make oath that he is aware of no prior art or other information that he in good faith believes to be more pertinent than that considered by the Patent Office. In an application for patent for an invention naming two or more inventors, each inventor shall specifically identify to which claim or claims he had made an inventive contribution. "(2) Each applicant, if he is not the inventor, shall himself, or, in the case of a corporation or other business entity not a natural person, by one or more directors, officers, employees, or agents thereof who has knowledge of the subject matter covered by the oath and with authority to make an oath on behalf of the applicant, shall, after notice of allowance, make oath that he has no reason to believe the inventor not to be the original and first inventor, that he is aware of no prior art that he in good faith believes to be more pertinent than that considered by the Patent Office, and that he is aware of no prior public use or other material information which would adversely affect the issuance of the patent to him; such oath shall verify the statement of facts supporting the allegation of ownership of, or the right otherwise to file an application for, the subject matter sought to be patented. "(3) Each agent, attorney, or other person recognized under section 31 of this title who participated in the preparation or prosecution of the application as shall be required by the Commissioner for purposes of carrying out this section shall, after notice of allowance, file a statement that he has no reason to believe the inventor not to be the original and first inventor, that he is aware of no prior art that he in good faith believes to be more pertinent than that considered by the Patent Office, and that he is aware of no prior public use or other material information which would adversely affect the issuance of the patent to the applicant. "(b) The Commissioner shall prescribe such rules and regulations as may be necessary or proper for carrying out the purposes of this section, including the form and content of any oath and statement herein required. "(c) Whenever an inventor, applicant, agent, attorney, or other person recognized under section 31 of this title refuses to execute any oath or statement required by subsection (a) of this section, or cannot be found or reached after diligent effort, the inventor or a person to whom the inventor has assigned or agreed in writing to assign the subject matter sought to be patented, or who otherwise shows sufficient proprietary interest in the matter justifying such action, shall file in lieu of said oath or statement an affidavit proving the pertinent facts and showing that such action is necessary to preserve his rights or to prevent irreparable damage. "(d) The applicant of an application filed pursuant to section 117 of this title shall make the oath required by subsection (a) of this section, so varied in form that it can be made by him. "(e) Every oath or statement required by subsection (a) of this section shall be submitted not later than the time of payment of the fee required under the provisions of section 151 (a) of this title. "§ 116. Joint inventors "(a) When two or more persons have made inventive contributions to subject matter claimed in an application, they shall apply for a patent jointly and each sign the application and make the required oath, or, if the application is filed by some other person having the right to do so, they shall be named as the inventors. (b) In an application for patent naming two or more inventors, it shall not be necessary for each person named as an inventor to be a joint inventor of the subject matter asserted in any claim. "(c) If a joint inventor refuses to join another inventor in an application for patent, or cannot be found or reached after diligent effort, the application may, subject to the requirements of section 111 of this title, be made by the other inventor on behalf of himself and the omitted inventor. The Patent Office, in such proceedings as the Commissioner shall by regulation prescribe and after notice to the omitted inventor as he prescribes, may grant a patent to the inventor making the application, subject to the same rights which the omitted inventor would have had if he had been joined. The omitted inventor may subsequently join in the application. "117. Death or incapacity of inventor "Legal representatives of deceased inventors and of those under legal incapacity may make application for patent upon compliance with the requirements and on the same terms and conditions applicable to the inventor, and may proceed on behalf of the inventor under the provisions of section 111(d) of this title. " 119. Benefit of earlier filing date in foreign country; right of priority "(a) If an applicant seeks to obtain a patent on subject matter disclosed in an application previously filed in a foreign country, he shall, subject to the provisions of this section, be entitled to such earlier foreign filing date, if— “(1) such foreign application was filed by the applicant, or the predecessor or successor in title thereto; and "(2) the subject matter common to the two applications, and on which the applicant seeks a United States patent, was expressly disclosed in such foreign application in the manner required by section 112(a) of this chapter; and “(3) the subject matter of the two applications has the same inventor for the common claims thereof; and "(4) the application filed in the United States was filed within twelve months after the earliest date on which such foreign application was filed: and "(5) such foreign application was regularly filed in a foreign country which affords similar privileges in the case of applications filed in the United States or to citizens of the United States. "(b) No application shall be entitled to a right of priority under this section unless a claim therefor is made in the specification at the time of filing the application, and a certified copy of the original foreign application, specification, and drawings, upon which it is based is filed in accordance with regulations established by the Commissioner, not later than the time of payment of the fee specified in section 151 of this title. An applicant shall not be required to file such certified copy earlier than three months after the actual filing date of the application in the United States. Certification shall be made by the Patent Office of the foreign country in which filed and show the date of the application and of the filing of the specification and other papers. The Commissioner may require translation of the papers filed if not |