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RULES OF PRACTICE

IN THE

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

APPENDIX OF FORMS.

RULES OF PRACTICE

IN THE

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

REVISED FEBRUARY 1, 1883.

The following regulations, designed to be in strict accordance with the Revised Statutes relating to the grant of patents for inventions, are published for gratuitous distribution. Marginal references to corresponding provisions of the revised statutes, and of the Rules of 1878, are given for the convenience of the public and of the office.

The observance of the appended forms, in all cases to which they may be applicable, is recommended to inventors and attorneys.

Printed copies of the revised statutes relating to the grant of patents may be obtained on application to the Commissioner.

Correspondence.

1. All business with the office should be transacted in writing. Unless by the consent of all parties, the action of the office will be based exclusively on the written record. No attention will be paid to any alleged oral promise, stipulation or understanding, in relation to which there is disagreement or doubt.

2. All office letters must be sent in the name of the "Commissioner of Patents." All letters and other communications intended for the office must be addressed to him; if addressed to any of the other officers they will ordinarily be returned.

3. Express charges, freight, postage and all other charges on matter sent to the patent office, must be prepaid in full; otherwise it will not be received.

4. The personal attendance of applicants at the patent office is unnecessary. Their business can be transacted by correspond

ence.

5. The assignee of the entire interest of an invention is entitled to hold correspondence with the office to the exclusion of the inventor.

6. Where there has been an assignment of an undivided part of an invention, the inventor and the assignee will both be recognized as the proper parties to hold correspondence with the office, and all amendments and other actions in such cases must be signed by both parties; but official letters will be sent in such case to the postoffice address of the inventor, unless he shall otherwise direct.

7. When an attorney shall have filed his power of attorney, duly executed, the correspondence will be held with him.

8. A double correspondence with the inventor and an assignee, or with a principal and his attorney, or with two attorneys, can not generally be allowed.

9. A separate letter should in every case be written in relation to each distinct subject of inquiry or application. Assignments for record, final fees and orders for copies or abstracts, must be sent to the office in separate letters.

10. When a letter concerns an application, it should state the name of the applicant, the title of the invention, the serial number of the application (see Rule 31), and the date of filing the

same.

11. When the letter concerns a patent, it should state the name of the patentee, the title of the invention, and the number and date of the patent.

12. No attention will be paid to ex parte statements or protests of persons concerning pending applications to which they are not parties, unless information of the pendency of such applications should have been voluntarily communicated by the applicants.

13. Letters received at the office will be answered, and orders for printed copies filled, without unnecessary delay. Telegrams, if not received before 3 o'clock P. M., can not ordinarily be answered until the following day.

Information to Correspondents.

14. The office can not respond to inquiries as to the novelty of an alleged invention in advance of an application for a patent, nor to inquiries propounded with a view of ascertaining whether any alleged improvements have been patented, and, if so, to whom; nor can it act as an expounder of the patent law, or as counsellor for individuals, except as to questions arising within the office.

Of the propriety of making an application for a patent, the inventor must judge for himself. The office is open to him, and its records and models pertaining to all patents granted may be inspected either by himself or by any attorney or expert he may call to his aid, and its reports are widely distributed. (See Rule 216.) Further than this the office can render him no assistance until his case comes regularly before it in the manner prescribed

by law. A copy of the rules, with this section marked, sent to the individual making an inquiry of the character referred to, is intended as a respectful answer by the office. Examiners' digests are not open to public inspection.

15. Caveats and pending applications are preserved in secrecy. No information will be given, without authority, respecting the filing by any particular person of a caveat or of an application for a patent or for the reissue of a patent, the pendency of any particular case before the office, or the subject-matter of any particular application, unless it shall be necessary to the proper conduct of business before the office, as provided by Rules 97, 102, and 126. (See Rule 171.)

16. After a patent has issued, the model, specification, drawings, and all documents relating to the case are subject to general inspection, and copies, except of the model, will be furnished at the rates specified in Rule 209.

Attorneys.

17. Any person of intelligence and good moral character may appear as the agent or the attorney in fact of an applicant, upon filing a proper power of attorney. As the value of patents depends largely upon the careful preparation of the specifications and claims, the assistance of competent counsel will, in most cases, be of advantage to the applicant; but the value of their services will be proportionate to their skill and honesty, and too much care cannot be exercised in their selection. The office cannot assume responsibility for the acts of attorneys, nor can it assist applicants in making selections. It will, however, be unsafe to trust those who pretend to the possession of any facilities except capacity and diligence for procuring patents in a shorter time or with broader claims than others.

18. Before any attorney, original or associate, will be allowed to inspect papers or take action of any kind, his power of attorney must be filed. No power of attorney purporting to have been given to a firm or copartnership will be recognized, either in favor of the firm or of any of its members, unless all its members shall be named in such power of attorney.

19. Substitution or association can be made by an attorney upon the written authorization of his principal; but such authorization will not empower the second agent to appoint a third.

20. Powers of attorney may be revoked at any stage in the proceedings of a case upon the applicant showing reasons therefor satisfactory to the Commissioner; and when so revoked the office will communicate directly with the applicant, or such other attorney as he may appoint. Attorneys will be promptly notified by the examiner in charge of the case, of the revocation

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