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TO AMEND SECTION 52 OF THE JUDICIAL CODE AND OTHER STATUTES AFFECTING PROCEDURE IN PATENT OFFICE

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
COMMITTEE ON PATENTS,
Thursday, February 4, 1926.

The committee met at 10 o'clock a. m., pursuant to notice, Hon. Albert H. Vestal (chairman) presiding.

The CHAIRMAN. Gentlemen, we are to consider H. R. 6252 and H. R. 7087 this morning, and we have some gentlemen here who desire to be heard on the merits of these two bills.

[H. R. 6252, Sixty-ninth Congress, first session]

A BILL Amending section 52 of the Judicial Code.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 52 of the Judicial Code be, and the same is hereby, amended by adding thereto the following:

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And upon the filing of a bill in the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia wherein remedy is sought under section 4915 or section 4918 of the Revised Statutes, without seeking other remedy, if it shall appear that there is an adverse party residing abroad or adverse parties residing in a plurality of districts not embraced within the same State, the court shall have jurisdiction thereof and writs may be issued against all of the adverse parties with the force and effect and in the manner set forth in this section; provided that writs issued against parties residing abroad pursuant to this section may be served by publication or otherwise as the court shall direct."

[H. R. 7087, Sixty-ninth Congress, first session]

A BILL Amending the statutes of the United States as to procedure in the Patent Office and in the courts with regard to the granting of letters patent for inventions and with regard to interfering patents Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representative of the United States of America in Congress assembeled, That section 4894 of the Revised Statutes of the United States be amended by striking out the words " one year" wherever they appear and substituting therefor the words "six months."

That section 4904 of the Revised Statutes of the United States be amended by striking out from the last sentence thereof the words "or of the board of examiners in chief, as the case may be."

That section 4910 of the Revised Statutes of the United States be amended by adding thereto the following:

"Provided, however, That in interference proceedings the decision of the examiners in chief shall be final, except that the commissioner may at his option review their decision on any points involved therein (a) upon petition of one of the parties; (b) upon his own volition; or (c) upon request of the examiners in chief.

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That sections 4911, 4912, 4913, and 4914 of the Revised Statutes of the United States be, and the same are hereby, repealed.

That section 9 of the Act of February 9, 1893, entitled "An Act to establish a court of appeals for the District of Columbia, and for other purposes" (Twentyseventh Statutes at Large, page 434) be, and the same is hereby repealed.

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That section 4915 of the Revised Statutes of the United States be amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 4915. Whenever a patent on application is refused by the Commissioner of Patents the applicant may have remedy by bill in equity; and the court having cognizance thereof, on notice to adverse parties and other due proceedings had, may adjudge that such applicant is entitled, according to law, to receive a patent for his invention, as specified in his claim, or for any part thereof, as the facts in the case may appear. And such adjudication, if it be in favor of the right of the applicant, shall authorize the commissioner to issue such patent on the applicant filing in the Patent Office a copy of the adjudication and otherwise complying with the requirements of law. In all cases where there is no opposing party a copy of the bill shall be served on the commissioner; and all the expenses of the proceeding shall be paid by the applicant, whether the final decision is in his favor or not. In all suits brought hereunder where there are adverse parties the record in the Patent Office shall be admitted in whole or in part, on motion of either party, subject to such terms and conditions as to costs, expenses, and the further cross-examination of the witnesses as the court may impose, without prejudice, however, to the right of the parties to take further testimony. The testimony and exhibits, or parts thereof, of the record in the Patent Office when admitted shall have the same force and effect as if originally taken and produced in the suit. For the purposes of this section an adverse party is the owner of a right to or in a patent with respect to which the patent sought by proceedings hereunder, if granted, would be an interfering patent."

That section 4918 of the Revised Statutes of the United States be amended by inserting after the word "either" in the phrase "may adjudge and declare either of the patents void in whole or in part" the words "or both.

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That this Act shall take effect six months after its approval; but it shall not affect appeals then pending before the Commissioner of Patents or in the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia.

Mr. MCLEOD. Mr. Chairman, before you proceed with those bills, which will take some time-possibly more hearings than the present one-and for the further reason that I have three other committee meetings this morning, and as I understand there has been no objection registered by this committee to reporting favorably H. R. 29, I would ask that the committee consider for a moment and see if there is any objection to the reporting of this bill, which was unanimously reported by the committee during the last Congress. It is merely an amendment to the present law which is on the statute book.

The CHAIRMAN. I was going to suggest, Mr. McLeod, that probably this matter ought not to be taken up until the rest of the members of the committee are here, because what you want, I think, is a motion to report the bill out. We could not do it without a majority of the committee, and if they come in during the hearing I shall bring the matter up and we will try to get rid of it to-day.

Mr. MCLEOD. That is fine. It is more than likely there is no objection to this bill. The act was passed in 1918, and this is merely amending that law.

The CHAIRMAN. The first gentleman we will hear this morning is Mr. Paul, president of the American Bar Association.

Mr. PAUL. Chairman of the legislative committee, patent section of the American Bar Association.

STATEMENT OF A. C. PAUL, CHAIRMAN OF THE LEGISLATION COMMITTEE, PATENT SECTION, OF THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION

Mr. PAUL. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, these two bills that we ask you to consider this morning have been drafted by a committee of the Patent Section of the American Bar Association and adopted by the section and indorsed by the American Bar

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