agency, and is obliged to use such skill and diligence as the nature of the business he has undertaken may demand.1 But neither his culpable neglect nor his fraudulent conduct are allowed to prejudice his principal, unless they have been instigated or accepted by the principal himself, or unless vested rights or public interests would be unjustly violated were the acts of the attorney held invalid.2 § 436. Compensation of Patent Attorneys: Lien on Letters Patent. The attorney of an inventor, like any other attorney, has a lien upon the papers of his client for his fees. The letterspatent, when issued by the Office, are delivered to him if he so desires, and may be retained by him until his reasonable charges against the patentee for services and disbursements have been paid. The same privilege belongs to an associate or substitute attorney in reference to all papers properly coming into his possession, although the patent itself is not delivered to him by the Office without a special order from the primary attorney. § 437. Attorneys Disbarred by Commissioner for Cause. The power of the Commissioner over the attorneys of inventors extends to their suspension or dismissal for gross misconduct, either toward the Patent Office or their clients. This power is conferred on the Commissioner by statute, and § 435. That a party is bound by the acts of his attorney, acting in good faith and within the scope of his authority, see Ex parte Hatchman (1884), 3 Mackay, 288; 26 O. G. 738; Ex parte Hatchman (1883), 25 O. G. 979. 2 That delays fraudulently caused by his attorney do not prejudice the inventor, see Case v. Hastings (1875), 7 O. G. 557. by the attorney, or where the public have availed themselves of the apparent abandonment of rights which greater vigilance or knowledge on the part of his attorney might have secured to the inventor, the principal is bound by the acts of his agent and must seek his remedy for the ignorance or neglect in the usual mode. Examples of the application of this rule will be observed For some purposes the acts of the in many cases hereafter cited, especially attorney bind his principal, even though in reference to the subject of Re-issues. involving a breach of duty or a want § 436. 1 That an attorney, or a subof professional skill. Where the inter-stitute attorney, has a lien on the papers ests of rival claimants are to be affected of his client, see Ex parte Bowers (1879), by a disavowal of the measures adopted 16 O. G. 1004. its necessity is manifested by the frequency of the occasions which demand its exercise. The suspension or dismissal may be general, covering all present and future proceedings in which the attorney is or might be employed, or it may be particular, merely preventing him from acting in the special cases named. This power, however, is not arbitrary nor conclusive. A hearing upon formal charges, in pursuance of the usual judicial methods, is accorded to the attorney; and the order for his dismissal, with the reasons for it, must be submitted to and receive the approval of the Secretary of the Interior before it goes into effect. The purpose of a caveat is to secure to an inventor the opportunity to have the question of priority between himself and a rival inventor determined before the issue of letterspatent to either.1 In the absence of such an opportunity the first applicant for a patent would receive the grant, although as a matter of fact he was not the earliest inventor. If subsequently to the issue of his patent the earlier inventor made his application, and successfully maintained his claim of priority, he would become entitled to, and would obtain, a patent also. Thus two outstanding patents for the same invention would exist, each vesting the exclusive right in a different patentee, a condition of affairs endangering the value of the invention not only to the rival patentees but to the public, since the use of the invention under either patent is a prima facie infringement of the other. To prevent this difficulty as far as possible Congress in 1836 provided the present method of securing to inventors who may not be ready to present their own applications such timely notice of the pendency of (1859), 18 How. Pr. 7; 4 Blatch 362; 1 Fisher, 479; Allen v. Hunter (1855), 6 McLean, 303. § 438. That the object of a caveat is to protect the first conceiver, and secure him a proper notice of subsequent applications, see Phelps v. Brown other applications covering the same invention as will enable them to make their claims and have them investigated by the Patent Office before any one receives the patent. § 439. Nature and Effect of Caveat. A caveat is a written notice to the Patent Office that the caveator claims to be the first and true inventor of the art or instrument therein described. Its effect is to prevent the grant of a patent for the same alleged invention, without notice to the caveator, in case an application should be filed by another inventor during the life of the caveat. Thus it simply entitles the caveator to a certain notice. It does not afford him any protection against public use, nor supply the place of due diligence in perfecting his invention and reducing it to practice.1 It gives him no advantage over any rival claimant, who may subsequently file a caveat or an application for a patent; nor does it impose upon him any obligation, either to present an application on his own behalf, or to oppose the issue of the patent to his rival. § 440. Who may File a Caveat. No person is permitted to enjoy this privilege unless he is a citizen of the United States, or, if an alien, unless he has resided in this country for one year next preceding the filing of his caveat, and has formally declared his intention to become a citizen. He must also be the actual inventor of the art or instrument described in his caveat, and must believe himself to be its first inventor; and for reasons known to himself, but into which neither the Patent Office nor the law inquires, he must desire further time to mature his invention before filing his own application for a patent.1 § 439. 1 In Bell v. Daniels (1858), 1 Bond, 212, Leavitt, J.: (218) "The effect of the caveat is to protect the claim of an inventor from all interfering applications made within one year after its filing, by requiring the Office to notify him of such applications, that he may resist the interference if he chooses. But if, during the time which elapses between the filing of his caveat and his application he allows his invention to go into public use, his caveat will not protect him." 1 Fisher, 372 (377). § 440. That a caveat cannot be filed for a design as a design cannot exist at all until it is complete enough to be patented, see Ex parte Carty (1888), 44 O. G. 570. § 441. Contents of Caveat. The caveat itself consists of a petition on oath, a specification, and in some cases a drawing. The petition alleges the citizenship or resident alienage of the caveator, his inventive act, and his desire to perfect his invention before applying for a patent, and prays that his accompanying specification may be placed on file in the Patent Office. The oath affirms the allegations of citizenship or residence, and the belief of the caveator that he is the first inventor. The specification embraces a description of the object of invention, and of its distinguishing characteristics. In this description the same particularity is not required as in that annexed to a petition for a patent; but it must be as complete and exact as the inventor is able to give, and must be precise enough to enable the examiners in the Office to determine whether an invention described in a subsequent application is probably the same. Any defect in this respect must be amended before the caveat can be accepted by the Office. The specification must also be limited to one invention, according to the rules established for the application for a patent; and if amendments offered describe a different or an additional invention they cannot be received, except as new and separate caveats. When practicable, a full and accurate drawing of the invention, executed upon some substance capable of being folded for convenient filing, should accompany the specification. The caveat must be signed by the inventor, although in caveats for joint inventions the signature of one inventor only is sufficient. The established fee must also be forwarded with the caveat. A failure to comply with any of these requirements renders the caveat of no validity, and the caveator is not entitled to the notice which it is intended to secure. § 442. Filing of Caveat: its Secrecy. On the receipt of the caveat by the Patent Office, in proper form, it is filed in the secret archives of the Office and there § 441. 1 That a caveat for a joint invention may be signed by one of the inventors only, see Ex parte Gray (1877), 12 O. G. 396. ventor is no bar to an application by him and another as joint inventors if the mistake were bona fide, see Hoe v. Kahler (1882), 12 Fed. Rep. 111; 20 That a caveat and oath by one in- Blatch. 430. remains during its life, inaccessible to all persons except the inventor, or his duly authorized agent, and the officers of the department. No information is permitted to be given to any others, either concerning its contents or the fact of its existence, unless by the direction of the caveator.1 § 443. Duration of Caveat. A caveat, once filed, remains in force for one year from the date of its acceptance by the Patent Office. At the expiration of this term it may be renewed for another year by the payment of an additional fee; and so on from year to year during the pleasure of the caveator. If not renewed it still remains in the secret archives of the Office, although it ceases to secure any rights to the inventor. § 444. Notice of Subsequent Applications to Caveator: Proceedings Thereon. Whenever an application for a patent for the same invention is filed by a rival inventor, either simultaneously with the caveat or during its life, and the invention described is found by the Office to be patentable and to correspond apparently with that specified in the caveat, proceedings on the application are suspended, the application with its specification, drawings, and model is deposited within the secret archives of the Office, and the caveator is notified to file his application for a patent in order that the rival claims may be determined. The caveator must thereupon present his application within three months from the expiration of the time regularly required for the transmission of such notice to him by mail from Washington; and if it then appears that the two applications claim the same invention an interference will be declared and the controversy heard and decided in the mode provided for that purpose. This notice to the caveator § 442. That the rule requiring caveats to be kept secret is lawful, see Dec. Sec. Int. (1883), 23 O. G. 629. That the fraudulent disclosure of a caveat to a rival applicant does not bar the right of the latter to a patent for the invention described and claimed in an application filed before the disclosure was made, see American Bell Telephone Co. v. National Improved Telephone Co. (1886), 27 Fed. Rep. 663. 1 § 444. In American Nicholson Pavement Co. v. Elizabeth (1873), 3 O. G. 522, Nixon, J.: (525) "The 12th section of the act of July 4, 1836, under which the foregoing caveat was filed, |