Lapas attēli
PDF
ePub

"S164. Assistance of Department of Agriculture

"The President may by Executive order direct the Secretary of Agriculture, in accordance with the requests of the Commissioner, for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of this title with respect to plants (1) to furnish available information of the Department of Agriculture, (2) to conduct through the appropriate bureau or division of the Department research upon special problems, or (3) to detail to the Commissioner officers and employees of the Department.

"Sec.

"171. Patents for designs.

"S 172. Right of priority.

"173. Term of design patent.

Ҥ171. Patents for designs

"CHAPTER 16.-DESIGNS

"(a) Whoever invents any new, original and ornamental design for an article of manufacture may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.

"(b) The provisions of this title relating to patents for inventions shall apply to patents for designs, except as otherwise provided.

"S172. Right of priority

"The right of priority provided for by section 117 of this title shall be six months in the case of designs.

"$173. Term of design patent

"Patents for designs may be granted for the term of three years and six months, or for seven years, or for fourteen years, as the applicant, in his application, elects.

"Sec.

"CHAPTER 17.-SECRECY AND FILING APPLICATIONS IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES

"181. Secrecy and withholding of patent.

"182. Abandonment of subject matter by reason of unauthorized disclosure. "183. Right to compensation.

"184. Filing of application in foreign countries.

"185. Patent barred for filing without license.

"186. Penalty.

"187. Nonapplicability to certain persons.

"188. Rules and regulations, delegation of power.

"§181. Secrecy and withholding of patent

"(a) Whenever publication or disclosure of the subject matter of an application for patent in which the Government has a property interest might, in the opinion of the head of an interested Government agency, be detrimental to the national security, the Commissioner upon being so notified shall order that the subject matter be kept secret and shall withhold disclosure thereof and the grant of a patent therefor under the conditions set forth hereinafter.

(b) Whenever publication or disclosure of the subject matter of an application for patent in which the Government does not have a property interest, might, in the opinion of the Commissioner, be detrimental to the national security, the Commissioner shall within two months of the date on which the application was filed in the United States, make the application for patent in which subject matter is disclosed available for inspection to the Atomic Energy Commission, the Secretary of Defense, and the chief officer of any other department of agency of the Government designated by the President as a defense agency of the United States.

"(c) Each individual to whom the application is disclosed shall sign a dated acknowledgement thereof, which acknowledgement shall be entered in the file of the application. If, in the opinion of the Atomic Energy Commission, the Secretary of Defense, or the chief officer of another department or agency so designated, the publication or disclosure of such effect for the duration of the hostilities and one year following cessation of hostilities. An order in effect, or issued, during a national emergency declared by the President shall remain in effect for the duration of the national emergency and six months thereafter. The Commissioner may rescind any order upon notification by the head of the

department or agency which caused the order to be issued that the publication or disclosure of such subject matter is no longer deemed detrimental to the national security.

"$182. Abandonment of subject matter by reason of unauthorized disclosure

"Subject matter disclosed in an application for patent subject to an order made pursuant to section 181 of this chapter shall be held abandoned upon a determination by a member of the Board of Appeals, pursuant to section 5(c) of this title, in such proceedings as the Commissioner shall by regulation establish, that in violation of said order such subject matter has been published or disclosed or that an application for a patent therefor has been filed in a foreign country by the inventor, his successors, assigns, or legal representatives, or anyone in privity with him or them, without the consent of the Commissioner. The consent of the Commissioner shall not be given without the concurrence of the heads of the departments and agencies which caused the order to be issued. The abandonment shall be held to have occurred as of the time of violation. A holding of abandonment shall abrogate all claims against the United States based upon such subject matter by the applicant,his successors, assigns, or legal representatives, or anyone in privity with him or them. "$183. Right to compensation

“An applicant, or patentee, or his legal representatives, whose patent is withheld as herein provided, shall have the right, beginning at the date the applicant is notified that, except for such order, his application is otherwise in condition for allowance, and ending six years after a patent is issued thereon, to apply to the head of any department or agency who caused the order to be issued for compensation for the damage caused by the order of secrecy and/or for the use of such subject matter by the Government resulting from his disclosure. The right to compensation for use by the Government shall begin on the date of the first use of such subject matter by the Government and shall terminate not later than twenty years from the actual filing date in the United States. The head of the department or agency is authorized, upon the presentation of the claim, to enter into an agreement with the applicant, or patentee, or his legal representatives, in full settlement for the damage and/or use. This settlement agreement shall be conclusive for all purposes notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary. If full settlement of the claim cannot be effected, the head of the department or agency may award and pay to such applicant, or patentee, or his legal representatives, a sum not exceeding 75 per centum of the sum which the head of the department or agency considers just compensation for the damage and/or use. A claimant may bring suit against the United States in the Court of Claims or in the district court of the United States for the district in which such claimant is a resident for an amount which when added to the award shall constitute just compensation for the damage and/or use of such subject matter, by the Government. The owner of any patent issued upon an application that was subject to a secrecy order issued pursuant to section 181 of this chapter, who did not apply for compensation as above provided, shall have the right, after the date of issuance of such patent, to bring suit in the Court of Claims for just compensation for the damage caused by reason of the order of secrecy and/or use by the Government of such subject matter resulting from his disclosure. The right to compensation for use by the Government shall begin on the date of the first use of the invention by the Government and shall terminate not later than twenty years from the actual filing date in the United States of the patent. In a suit under the provisions of this section the United States may avail itself of all defenses it may plead in an action under section 1498 of title 28. This section shall not confer a right of action on anyone or his successors, assigns, or legal representatives who, while in the full-time employment or service of the United States, discovered, invented, or developed the subject matter on which the claim is based.

Ҥ184. Filing of application in foreign country

"(a) Except when authorized by a license obtained from the Commissioner, a person shall not file or cause or authorize to be filed in any foreign country prior to six months after filing an application for patent in the United States an application for patent or for the registration of a utility model, industrial design or model in respect of an invention made in this country. A license

shall not be granted with respect to an invention subject to an order issued by the Commissioner pursuant to section 181 of this chapter without the concurrence of the head of the department or agency which caused the order to be issued.

"(b) The term 'application' when used in this chapter includes applications and any modifications, amendments, or supplements thereto, or divisions thereof.

"(c) No license shall be required subsequent to the filing of a foreign application for any modifications, amendments, or supplements to that foreign application, or divisions thereof, which do not alter the nature of the subject matter originally disclosed, which are within the scope of the subject matter orginally disclosed, and where the filing of the foreign application originally complied with the provisions of this section, unless the applicant has been notified by the Commissioner that a specific license is required for filing such papers in connection with any application.

"§185. Patent barred for filing without license

"(a) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law any person, and his successors, assigns, or legal representatives, shall not receive a United States patent for subject matter described in an application if that person, or his successors, assigns, or legal representatives shall, without procuring any license made necessary by section 184 of this chapter, have made, or consented to or assisted another's making, application in a foreign country for a patent or for the registration of a utility model, industrial design, or model in respect to such subject matter. A United States patent if issued for such invention to such person, his successors, assigns or legal representatives shall be invalid. "(b) A license may be granted retroactively where an application has been inadvertently filed abroad and the application does not disclose an invention within the scope of section 181 of this title if it is applied for within three months of the date the inadvertent filing is brought to the attention of applicant.

"186. Penalty

"Whoever, during the period or periods of time any subject matter has been ordered to be kept secret and the grant of a patent thereon withheld pursuant to section 181 of this chapter, shall, with knowledge of such order and without due authorization, willfully publish or disclose or authorize or cause to be published or disclosed the subject matter or material information with respect thereto, or whoever, in violation of the provisions of section 184 of this chapter, shall file or cause or authorize to be filed in any foreign cluntry an application for patent or for the registration of a utility model, industrial design. or model in respect of an invention made in the United States, shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned for not more than two years, or both.

"187. Nonapplicability to certain persons

"The provisions and penalties of this chapter shall not apply to any officer or agent of the United States acting within the scope of his authority, nor to any person acting upon his written instructions or permission.

"S188. Rules and regulations, delegation of power

"The Atomic Energy Commission, the Secretary of Defense, the chief officer of any other department or agency of the Government designated by the President as a defense agency of the United States, and the Patent Office, may separately issue rules and regulations to enable the respective department or agency to carry out the provisions of this chapter, and may delegate any power conferred by this chapter.

"Sec.

"CHAPTER 18.-AMENDMENT AND CORRECTION OF PATENT RIGHTS

"191. Republication of defective applications.

"192. Effect of republication.

"193. Disclaimer.

"194. Certificate of correction of Patent Office mistake.

"195. Certification of correction of applicant's mistake. "196. Correction of named inventor.

Ҥ191. Republication of defective applications

"(a) Whenever any published and pending or patented application is, through error without any deceptive intention, found to be misleading or incomplete, by reason of a defective disclosure or drawing, or by reason of the applicant claiming other than he had a right to claim, the Commissioner shall, upon the petition of the owner and the payment of the fee required by law, republish the application for the invention disclosed in the original application to be effective in accordance with the republished application, for the term. measured by the original application. No new matter shall be introduced into the republished application.

(b) The provisions of this title relating to original applications for patent shall be applicable to republished applications.

(c) A petition to republish an application may be filed at any time within twenty-six years of the earliest priority date claimed under section 118 of this title in the original application. If a patent has been granted upon the original application, the petition shall reopen the republished application for examination in all respects.

"$192. Effect of republication

(a) Every republished application shall have the same effect and operation in law, on the trial of actions for causes thereafter arising, as if the same had been originally published in such amended form, but insofar as the claims of the original and republished applications are identical, such republication shall not affect any action then pending nor abate any cause of action then existing,. and the republished application, to the extent that its claims are identical with the original application, shall constitute a continuation thereof and have effect continuously from the date of the original application.

"(b) No republished application shall abridge or affect the right of any person or his successors in business who made, purchased or used prior to the republication anything claimed by the republished application, to continue the use of, or to sell to others to be used or sold, the specific thing so made, purchased or used, unless the making, using or selling of such thing infringes a valid claim of the republished application which was in the original application. The court before which such matter is in question may provide for the continued manufacture, use or sale of the thing made, purchased or used as specified, or for the manufacture, use or sale of which substantial preparation was made before the republication, and it may also provide for the continued practice of any process claimed by the republished application, practiced, or for the practice of which substantial preparation was made, prior to the republication, to the extent and under such terms as the court deems equitable for the protection of investments made or business commenced before the republication and in reasonable reliance on the text of the original application. "$193. Disclaimer

"(a) Whenever, without any deceptive intention, a claim of a published application or patent is invalid the remaining claims shall not thereby be rendered invalid. The owner, whether of the whole or any sectional interest therein, may, on payment of the fee required by law, make disclaimer of any complete claim, stating therein the extent of his interest in such published application or patent. Such disclaimer shall be in writing and recorded in the Patent Office. It shall thereafter be considered as part of the original published application or patent to the extent of the interest possessed by the disclaimant and by those claiming under him.

"(b) In like manner any patentee or applicant may disclaim or dedicate to the public the entire term, or any terminal part of the term, of the patent granted or to be granted.

"$194. Certificate of correction of Patent Office mistake

"Whenever a mistake in a published application or patent, incurred through the fault of the Patent Office, is clearly disclosed by the records of the Office, the Commissioner may issue a certificate of correction stating the fact and nature of such mistake, under seal, without charge, to be recorded in the records of the Patent Office. A printed copy thereof shall be attached to each printed copy of the published application and patent, and such certificate shall be considered as part of the original published application and patent. Every 23-932-74 42

such published application and patent, together with such certificate, shall have the same effect and operation in law on the trial of actions for causes thereafter arising as if the same had been originally issued in such corrected form. The Commissioner may issue a corrected published application or patent without charge in lieu of and with like effect as a certificate of correction. "§195. Certificate of correction of applicant's mistake

"Whenever a mistake of a clerical or typographical nature, or of minor character, which was not the fault of the Patent Office, appears in a published application or patent and a showing has been made that such mistake occurred in good faith,the Commissioner may, upon payment of the required fee, issue a certificate of correction, if the correction does not involve such changes in the published application or patent as would constitute new matter or would require re-examination. Such published application or patent, together with the certificate, shall have the same effect and operation in law on the trial of actions for causes thereafter arising as if the same had been originally issued in such corrected form.

"§196. Correction of named inventor

"Omission of an inventor's name or inclusion of the name of a person not an inventor or both, without deceptive intent, shall not affect validity of a published application or patent, and may be corrected at any time by the Commissioner in accordance with regulations established by him or upon order of a court of competent jurisdiction before which the matter is called in question. Upon such correction the Commissioner shall issues a certificate accordingly.

"PART III-PATENTS AND PROTECTION OF PATENT RIGHTS

"Chapter

Sec.

"25. Ownership, assignment, and abandonment

"26. Government interests in patents

"27. Infringement of patents

"28. Remedies for infringement of patent, and other actions "29. Preservation of other rights

251

261

271

271

291

"CHAPTER 25.-OWNERSHIP, ASSIGNMENT, AND ABANDONMENT

"Sec.

"251. Ownership, assignment, and abandonment.

"252. Joint owners.

"253. Determination of title disputes.

"§251. Ownership, abandonment, and assignment

"(a) Subject to the provisions of this title, inventions, applications, and patents shall have the attributes of personal property.

"(b) Inventions are the property of their inventors when made, subject to any preexisting rights and duties with respect thereto created by contract or operation of law. Unless an invention is made the subject of an application pursuant to this title or is caused to become a part of the prior art to such an application, it is abandoned for the purposes of this title only, subject however to the defense provided in section 282(b) of this title.

"(c) Applications for patent, patents, or any interest therein, shall be assignable in law by an instrument in writing. An applicant or a patentee may in like manner grant and convey an exclusive right under his application for patent, or patent, to the whole or any specified part of the United States for the whole or any specified part of the right secured thereby.

"(d) A certificate of acknowledgement under the hand and official seal of a person authorized to administer oaths within the United States, or in a foreign country, of a diplomatic or consular officer of the United States or an officer authorized to administer oaths whose authority is provided by a certifi cate of a diplomatic or consular officer of the United States, shall be prima facie evidence of the execution of an assignment, grant or conveyance of a patent or application for patent.

"(e) An assignment, grant, or conveyance, and any license or waiver, such as an easement, quitclaim, covenant not to sue, release, or the like, purporting to operate in any manner after its own date shall be void as against any subsequent purchaser or mortgagee for a valuable consideration, without notice, unless it is recorded in the Patent Office within three months from its date or prior to the date of such subsequent purchase or mortgage.

« iepriekšējāTurpināt »