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

[24 FR 10332, Dec. 22, 1959, as amended at 29 FR 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 and Trademark 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 and Trademark Office. 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 FR 10332, Dec. 22, 1959, as amended at 29 FR 18503, Dec. 29, 1964; 34 FR 18857, Nov. 26, 1969]

THE APPLICATION

§ 1.51 General requisites of an application.

(a) Applications for patents must be made to the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks. A complete application comprises:

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

(2) An oath or declaration, see §§ 1.65 and 1.68.

(3) Drawings, when necessary, see §§ 1.81 to 1.88.

(4) The prescribed filing fee. (See 35 U.S.C. section 41 for filing fees.)

(b) Applicants are encouraged to file a prior art statement at the time of filing the application or within three months thereafter. See §§ 1.97 through

1.99.

[42 FR 5593, Jan. 28, 1977]

§ 1.52 Language, paper, writing, margins.

(a) The application, any amendments or corrections thereto, and the oath or declaration must be in the English language except as provided for in § 1.69, or be accompanied by a verified translation of the application and a translation of any corrections or amendments into the English language. All papers which are to become a part of the permanent records of the Patent and Trademark Office must be legibly written, typed, or printed in permanent ink or its equivalent in quality. All of the application papers must be presented in a form having sufficient clarity and contrast between the paper and the writing, typing, or printing thereon to permit the direct production of readily legible copies in any number by use of photographic, electrostatic, photooffset, and microfilming processes. If the papers are not of the required quality, substitute typewritten or printed papers of suitable quality may be required.

(b) The application papers (specification, including claims, abstract, oath or declaration, and papers as provided for in §§ 1.42, 1.43, 1.47, etc.) and also papers subsequently filed, must be plainly written on but one side of the paper. The size of all sheets of paper should be 8 to 81⁄2 by 10% to 13 inches (20.3 to 21.6 cm. by 26.6 to 33.0 cm.). A

margin of at least approximately one inch (2.5 cm.) must be reserved on the left-hand of each page. The top of each page of the application, including claims must have a margin of at least approximately 4 inch (2 cm.). The lines of text must not be crowded too closely together; typewritten lines should be 11⁄2 or double spaced. The pages of the application, including claims and abstract, should be numbered consecutively, starting with 1, the numbers being centrally located above or preferably, below, the text.

(c) Any interlineation, erasure, or cancellation or other alteration of the application papers as filed must have been made before the application was signed and sworn to or declaration made, and should be dated and initialed or signed by the applicant in a marginal note or footnote on the same sheet of paper to indicate such fact. No such alterations are permissible after execution of the application papers. (See § 1.56.)

(Pub. L. 94-131, 89 Stat. 685)

[37 FR 21994, Oct. 18, 1972, as amended at 43 FR 20462, May. 11, 1978]

§ 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 and Trademark 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.

(c) An applicant may under certain circumstances claim priority on the basis of an application for an inventor's certificate in a country granting both inventor's certificates and patents. When an applicant wishes to claim the right of priority as to a claim or claims of the application on the basis of an application for an inventor's certificate in such a country under 35 U.S.C. 119, last paragraph (as amended July 28, 1972), the applicant or his attorney or agent, when submitting a claim for such right as specified in paragraph (b) of this section, shall include an affidavit or declaration in

cluding a specific statement that, upon an investigation, he has satisfied himself that to the best of his knowledge the applicant, when filing his application for the inventor's certificate, had the option to file an application either for a patent or an inventor's certificate as to the subject matter of the identified claim or claims forming the basis for the claim of priority.

(d) The filing date of an international application designating the United States of America shall be treated as the filing date in the United States of America under PCT Article 11(3), except as provided in 35 U.S.C. 102(e). (35 U.S.C. 119; Pub. L. 94-131, 89 Stat. 685) [24 FR 10332, Dec. 22, 1959, as amended at 34 FR 12629, Aug. 2, 1969; 34 FR 18857, Nov. 26, 1969; 38 FR 9297, Apr. 13, 1973; 43 FR 20463, May 11, 1978]

EFFECTIVE DATE: Paragraph (c) added at 38 FR 9297 shall be effective on the date when Articles 1-12 of the Paris Convention of March 20, 1883, for the Protection of Industrial Property, as revised at Stockholm, July 14, 1967, come into force with respect to the United States and shall apply only to applications thereafter filed in the United States.

§ 1.56 Duty of disclosure; striking of applications.

(a) A duty of candor and good faith toward the Patent and Trademark Office rests on the inventor, on each attorney or agent who prepares or prosecutes the application and on every other individual 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. All such individuals have a duty to disclose to the Office information they are aware of which is material to the examination of the application. Such information is material where there is a substantial likelihood that a reasonable examiner would consider it important in deciding whether to allow the application to issue as a patent. The duty is commensurate with the degree of involvement in the preparation or prosecution of the application.

(b) Disclosures pursuant to this section may be made to the Office through an attorney or agent having

responsibility for the preparation or prosecution of the application or through an inventor who is acting in his own behalf. Disclosure to such an attorney, agent or inventor shall satisfy the duty, with respect to the information disclosed, of any other individual. Such an attorney, agent or inventor has no duty to transmit information which is not material to the examination of the application.

(c) Any application may be stricken from the files if: (1) Signed or sworn to in blank, or without actual inspection by the applicant; or

(2) Altered or partly filled in after being signed or sworn to.

(d) An application shall be stricken from the files if it is established by clear and convincing evidence that any fraud was practiced or attempted on the Office in connection with it or that there was any violation of the duty of disclosure through bad faith or gross negligence.

[42 FR 5593, Jan. 28, 1977]

§ 1.57 Signature.

(a) The application must be signed by the applicant in person. The signature to the oath or declaration under § 1.65 will be accepted as the signature to the application provided the oath or declaration under § 1.65 is attached to and refers to the specification and claims to which it applies. Otherwise the signature must appear at the end of the specification after the claims.

(b) The signature to the oath or declaration under § 1.70 will be accepted as the signature to the application provided the oath or declaration under § 1.70 specifically refers to the specification and claims to which it applies.

(c) Full names must be given, including at least one given name without abbreviation together with any other given name or initial.

(35 U.S.C. 6, Pub. L. 94-131, 89 Stat. 685) [43 FR 20463, May 11, 1978]

§1.58 Chemical and mathematical formulas 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 specifi

cation 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) All tables and chemical and mathematical formulas in the specification, including claims, and amendments thereto, must be on paper which is flexible, strong, white, smooth, nonshiny; and durable in order to permit use as camera copy when printing any patent which may issue. A good grade of bond paper is acceptable; watermarks should not be prominent. India ink or its equivalent, or solid black typewriter, should be used to secure perfectly black solid lines.

(c) To facilitate camera copying when printing, the width of formulas and tables as presented should be limited normally to 5 inches (12.7 cm.) so that it may appear as a single column in the printed patent. If it is not possible to limit the width of a formula or table to 5 inches (12.7 cm.), it is permissible to present the formula or table with a maximum width of 10 inches (27.3 cm.) and to place it sideways on the sheet. Typewritten characters used in such formulas and tables must be from a block (nonscript) type font or lettering style having capital letters which are at least 0.08 inch (2.1 mm.) high (e.g., elite type). Hand lettering must be neat, clean, and have a minimum character height of 0.08 inch (2.1 mm.). A space at least 4 inch (6.4 mm.) high should be provided between complex formulas and tables and the text. Tables should have the lines and columns of data closely spaced to conserve space, consistent with high degree of legibility.

(Pub. L. 94-131, 89 Stat. 685) [43 FR 20463, May 11, 1978]

§ 1.59 Papers of complete application not to be returned.

Papers in a complete application, including the drawings, 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.

[36 FR 9775, May 28, 1971]

§ 1.60 Continuing application for invention disclosed and claimed in a prior application.

A continuation or divisional application (filed under the conditions specified in 35 U.S.C. 120 or 121), which discloses and claims only subject matter disclosed in a prior application may be filed as a separate application before the patenting or abandonment of or termination of proceedings on the prior application. If the application papers comprise a copy of the prior application as filed, signing and execution by the applicant may be omitted provided the copy either is prepared and certified by the Patent and Trademark Office or is prepared by the applicant and verified by an affidavit or declaration by the applicant, his attorney or agent, stating that it is a true copy of the prior application as filed. Certification may be omitted if the copy is prepared by and does not leave the custody of the Patent and Trademark Office. Only amendments reducing the number of claims or adding a reference to the prior application (§ 1.78(a)) will be entered before calculating the filing fee and granting of the filing date.

[36 FR 12690, July 3, 1971]

§ 1.61 Filing of applications in the United States of America at a Designated Office.

(a) To maintain the benefit of the international filing date and obtain an examination as to the patentability of the invention in the United States, the applicant shall furnish to the U.S. Patent and Tradmark Office not later than the expiration of 20 months from the priority date: (1) A copy of the international application with any amendments, unless it has been previously furnished by the International Bureau or unless it was originally filed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; (2) a verified translation of the international application and a translation of any amendments into the English language, if originally filed elsewhere in another language; (3) the national fee (see § 1.445(a)(4)); and (4) an oath or declaration of the inventor (see § 1.70).

(b) Where an International Searching Authority has made a declaration that no international search report will be established because the international application relates to subject matter which it is not required to search, or because the application fails to comply with the prescribed requirements to such an extent that a meaningful search could not be carried out, the time for performing the acts referred to in paragraph (a) of this section is 2 months from the mailing date of the declaration to the applicant. (Pub. L. 94-131, 89 Stat. 685)

[43 FR 20463, May 11, 1978]

OATH OR DECLARATION

§ 1.65 Oath or declaration.

(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 or made the subject of an inventor's certificate 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 must acknowledge a duty to disclose information he is aware of which is material to the examination of the application. He shall state whether or not any application for patent or inventor's certificate on the same invention has been filed in any