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.

(35 U.S.C. 6; 15 U.S.C. 1113, 1123) [47 FR 41275, Sept. 17, 1982]

§ 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(d)(1) 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 cases, 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).

(35 U.S.C. 6, Pub. L. 97-247)

[48 FR 2711, Jan. 20, 1983, as amended at 57 FR 2034, Jan. 17, 1992; 60 FR 20225, Apr. 25, 1995]

§ 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]

§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 a verified

English translation, 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.

(35 U.S.C. 6, Pub. L. 97-247)

[42 FR 5594, Jan. 28, 1977, as amended at 48 FR 2711, Jan. 20, 1983]

§ 1.70 [Reserved]

SPECIFICATION

AUTHORITY: Secs. 1.71 to 1.79 also issued under 35 U.S.C. 112.

§ 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 pat

ent 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, "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]

§ 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 be set forth 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.

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

[31 FR 12922, Oct. 4, 1966, as amended at 43 FI 20464, May 11, 1978]

§ 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.

§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).

81.75 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 par

ticular 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) All dependent claims should be grouped together with the claim or claims to which they refer to the extent possible.

(35 U.S.C. 6; 15 U.S.C. 1113, 1126)

[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]

§ 1.77 Arrangement of application ele

ments.

The elements of the application should appear in the following order:

(a) Title of the invention; or an introductory portion stating the name, citizenship, and residence of the applicant, and the title of the invention may be used.

(b) [Reserved]

(c)(1) Cross-reference to related applications, if any.

(2) Reference to a "microfiche appendix" if any. (See §1.96(b)). The total number of microfiche and total number of frames should be specified.

(d) Brief summary of the invention.

(e) Brief description of the several views of the drawing, if there are drawings.

(f) Detailed description.

(g) Claim or claims.

(h) Abstract of the disclosure.

(i) Signed oath or declaration. (j) Drawings.

(Pub. L. 94-131, 89 Stat. 685; 35 U.S.C. 6 and 41; Pub. L. 97-247)

[43 FR 20464, May 11, 1978, as amended at 46 FR 2612, Jan. 12, 1981; 48 FR 2712, Jan. 20, 1983]

§1.78 Claiming benefit of earlier filing

date and cross references to other applications.

(a)(1) A nonprovisional application may claim an invention disclosed in one or more prior filed copending nonprovisional applications or international applications designating the United States of America. In order for a nonprovisional application to claim the benefit of a prior filed copending nonprovisional application or international application designating the United States of America, each prior application must name as an inventor at least one inventor named in the later filed nonprovisional application and disclose the named inventor's invention claimed in at least one claim of the later filed nonprovisional application in the manner provided by the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112. In addition, each prior application must be: (i) Complete as set forth §1.51(a)(1); or

in

(ii) Entitled to a filing date as set forth in §1.53(b)(1), §1.60 or § 1.62 and include the basic filing fee set forth in §1.16; or

(iii) Entitled to a filing date as set forth in §1.53(b)(1) and have paid therein the processing and retention fee set forth in §1.21(1) within the time period set forth in §1.53(d)(1).

(2) Any nonprovisional application claiming the benefit of one or more prior filed copending nonprovisional applications or international applications designating the United States of America must contain or be amended to contain in the first sentence of the specification following the title a reference to each such prior application, identifying it by application number (consisting of the series code and serial

number) or international application number and international filing date and indicating the relationship of the applications. Cross-references to other related applications may be made when appropriate. (See §1.14(b)).

(3) A nonprovisional application other than for a design patent may claim an invention disclosed in one or more prior filed copending provisional applications. Since a provisional application can be pending for no more than twelve months, the last day of pendency may occur on a Saturday, Sunday, or Federal holiday within the District of Columbia which for copendency would require the nonprovisional application to be filed prior to the Saturday, Sunday, or Federal holiday. In order for a nonprovisional application to claim the benefit of one or more prior filed copending provisional applications, each prior provisional application must name as an inventor at least one inventor named in the later filed nonprovisional application and disclose the named inventor's invention claimed in at least one claim of the later filed nonprovisional application in the manner provided by the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112. In addition, each prior provisional application must be:

(i) Complete as set forth in §1.51(a)(2); or

(ii) Entitled to a filing date as set forth in §1.53(b)(2) and include the basic filing fee set forth in §1.16(k).

(4) Any nonprovisional application claiming the benefit of one or more prior filed copending provisional applications must contain or be amended to contain in the first sentence of the specification following the title a reference to each such prior provisional application, identifying it as a provisional application, and including the provisional application number (consisting of series code and serial number).

(b) Where two or more applications filed by the same applicant contain conflicting claims, elimination of such claims from all but one application may be required in the absence of good and sufficient reason for their retention during pendency in more than one application.

(c) Where two or more applications, or an application and a patent naming different inventors and owned by the same party contain conflicting claims, and there is no statement of record indicating that the claimed inventions were commonly owned or subject to an obligation of assignment to the same person at the time the later invention was made, the assignee may be called upon to state whether the claimed inventions were commonly owned or subject to an obligation of assignment to the same person at the time the later invention was made, and if not, indicate which named inventor is the prior inventor. In addition to making said statement, the assignee may also explain why an interference should or should not be declared.

(d) Where an application claims an invention which is not patentably distinct from an invention claimed in a commonly owned patent with the same or a different inventive entity, a double patenting rejection will be made in the application. An obviousness-type double patenting rejection may be obviated by filing a terminal disclaimer in accordance with §1.321(b).

(Pub. L. 94-131, 89 Stat. 685; 35 U.S.C. 6, Pub. L. 97-247)

[36 FR 7312, Apr. 17, 1971, as amended at 50 FR 9380, Mar. 7, 1985; 50 FR 11366, Mar. 21, 1985; 58 FR 54509, Oct. 22, 1993; 60 FR 20225, Apr. 25, 1995]

understanding of the subject matter sought to be patented; this drawing, or a high quality copy thereof, must be filed with the application. Since corrections are the responsibility of the applicant, the original drawing(s) should be retained by the applicant for any necessary future correction.

(b) Drawings may include illustrations which facilitate an understanding of the invention (for example, flow sheets in cases of processes, and diagrammatic views).

(c) Whenever the nature of the subject matter sought to be patented admits of illustration by a drawing without its being necessary for the understanding of the subject matter and the applicant has not furnished such a drawing, the examiner will require its submission within a time period of not less than two months from the date of the sending of a notice thereof.

(d) Drawings submitted after the filing date of the application may not be used to overcome any insufficiency of the specification due to lack of an enabling disclosure or otherwise inadequate disclosure therein, or to supplement the original disclosure thereof for the purpose of interpretation of the scope of any claim.

[43 FR 4015, Jan. 31, 1978, as amended at 53 FR 47808, Nov. 28, 1988]

§ 1.83 Content of drawing.

(a) The drawing in a nonprovisional application must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. However, conventional features disclosed in the description and claims, where their detailed illustration is not essential for a proper understanding of the invention, should be illustrated in the drawing in the form of a graphical drawing symbol or a labeled representation (e.g., a labeled rectangular box).

(b) When the invention consists of an improvement on an old machine the drawing must when possible exhibit, in one or more views, the improved portion itself, disconnected from the old structure, and also in another view, so much only of the old structure as will suffice to show the connection of the invention therewith.

(c) Where the drawings in a nonprovisional application do not comply with the requirements of paragraphs (a) and