Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1877-05-03
How Patents are Examined.

The following extract from a report re-
Gently made by the Chief of the Patent
Office to Secretary Schurz is interesting
as showing the workings of the bureau:
The examining corps consists of twenty
two principal examiners, each having a
first, second and third assistant; of an ex
aminer of interferences and an examiner
of trade marks. Each principal examiner
has charge of class relating to
some one or more kindred subjects-mat-
ter. Each one of these principal exam
iners, with the aid of his assistants, exam
ines all applications in his class as to pa
tentability, decides all questions relating
thereto, both of law and fact. His favor
able decision is practically final, and the
patent issues upon his order. In case of
his adverse decision, appeal may be taken
to the Board of EXaminers-in-C Chief. This
Board consists of three equal members,
appointed by the President and confirmed
by the Senate. Their legal duty is to
hear appeals from adverse decisions of the
principal examiners and from the exam
iner of interference, to review the decis-
ions OF those examiners, and they may af-
firm or reverse them. From their ad-
verse decision appeal may be taken to the
Commission er in person, or to the As
siOner.
The examiner of interferences, who has
also assistants, has original jurisdiction in
cases where conflict arises between ap-
plicants or the applicant and patentee as
to priority of invention.
The examiner of trade marks receives
all applications for trade marks and labels
and considers the propriety of registering
such matters. He acts under the super
vision of the Commissioner, and appeals
from him are taken to the Commissioner
in person.
In addition to the assistant examiners
who aid the principal examiners in the adj
Indication of the claims of applicants
for patents, each examiner has a clerk
who assists In the correspondence and i'll
the care of the files and records of his
room.
Each examiner receives at his room all
the applications pertaining to his class,
but before they are sent to him all ques-
tions as to fees, to the more formal mat
ters, such as oath, petition, signatures,
kind of drawing ETC., are determined by
the chief clerk or his subOrdinates, or by
the Commissioner in person.
All applications when received are ex-
amined in the order of their receipt. The
examiner and his assistants make such ex-
animation into the records of the office,
prior patents, printed publications, foreign
patents and the like as may be necessary
to refresh his memory and enable him to
decide as to the novelty of the invention
presented in the application.
The law requires him. if he reject, to
state explicitly the reasons of his rejcc-
ton. The applicant or his attorney may
then amend, present arguments if he
thinks best, and the case must be reheard.
The second decision of the examiner may
be final, and from that appeal may be
taken as hereinbefore stated. This system
brings inventors and their attorneys di-
rectly and constantly into contact with the
office.
Although, strictly speaking, no money
interest is here concerned, the eagerness
Of pursuit is none the less on that account.
The rights sought are those of property;
that is to say, the exclusive use of sup
posed valuable invention and added
thereto is often the pride of invention.
Added 10 this is the fact that many attor-
neys prosecute cases for fees contingent
upon success in procuring the patent.
The result is an unremitRd pressure for
patents The advantage of this is that
the office is under constant and interested
scrutiny, sharp to detect and earnest to
complain of defects. On the other hand,
constant pressure requires as constant re-
sistance on the part OF, the examining
corps, in order to guard the rights of the
public, and refuse patents no justified by
the law. Changes in the head of the
office and gradual changes in the person
mel of the examining corps have caused
changes in the resultant of these two
forces, SO that on the one hand there has
been at times complaint as to the strict
ness of the office in rejecting applications
that may have seemed frivolous, and on
the other hand complaints that the coun-
try has been flooded and people harassed
with patents which ought never to have
been granted.