Source: https://www.pharmapatentsblog.com/2011/11/17/upcoming-changes-to-the-inventor-oathdeclaration-requirements/
Timestamp: 2017-08-22 22:36:16
Document Index: 140053297

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 115', '§ 1', '§ 115', '§ 118', '§ 118', '§ 115']

Upcoming Changes To The Inventor Oath/Declaration Requirements | PharmaPatents
Home > Patent Office Practice > Upcoming Changes To The Inventor Oath/Declaration Requirements
Upcoming Changes To The Inventor Oath/Declaration Requirements
Provisions of the America Invents Act that take effect September 16, 2012 will change the requirements for the inventor oath/declaration. While some are touting the new ability of an assignee to file an application, even once these changes take effect an oath/declaration executed by the inventor(s) will be required in the vast majority of patent applications.
The AIA modifies the required language in the inventor oath/declaration through amendments to 35 USC § 115. The current version of the statue requires the inventor to attest
that he believes himself to be the original and first inventor of the process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or improvement thereof, for which he solicits a patent; and [to] state of what country he is a citizen.
As amended by the AIA, the statute will require statements that—
an acknowledgment that any willful false statement made in such declaration or statement is punishable under section 1001 of title 18 by fine or imprisonment of not more than 5 years, or both.
The requirement for statement (1) is new, the language of statement (2) is tweaked, and the statute will no longer require a declaration of citizenship. The AIA also newly permits the required statements to be included in an assignment document.
Under current law, an executed inventor oath/declaration can be filed with the application or within the period set forth in a Notice To File Missing Parts or a Notice of Missing Requirements. (Such Notices usually set two month time periods that are extendable for up to five months.) As set forth in 37 CFR § 1.211, an application will not be published until an executed oath/declaration is filed, and substantive examination will not occur until this and other formality requirements are satisfied. Thus, the executed oath/declaration must be provided at the start of the examination process.
The AIA turns this around by requiring the executed oath/declaration to be filed by the end of prosecution, in § 115(f):
(f) TIME FOR FILING.—A notice of allowance under section 151 may be provided to an applicant for patent only if the applicant for patent has filed each required oath or declaration under subsection (a) . . . .
(It could be important for the Examiner to be able to require an executed oath/declaration earlier if inventorship becomes relevant to patentability, such as if there is a publication within the grace period that could be disqualified if it originated from the inventor.)
Like the current law, the AIA permits a “substitute statement” to be filed in lieu of an executed oath/declaration in limited circumstances:
The statute requires a substitute statement to:
These circumstances and requirements are similar to those set forth in the current version of 35 USC § 118 and related regulations.
Thus, while new § 118 seems to permit an assignee to file an application, new § 115 appears to still require an executed inventor’s oath or declaration for most applications. The flexibility in the timing requirement could be helpful in circumstances where an inventor is temporarily unavailable, but most applicants will be better off obtaining an executed inventor oath/declaration sooner rather than later.
I visited the National Archives this weekend and noticed this postcard in the gift shop.
This is a copy of the executed oath for the Wright brothers’ 1903 patent application for a Flying Machine.
They swore that they were the “original, first and joint inventors” and that that did “not know” and “did not believe” that the invention
was ever known or used before their invention or discovery thereof, or patented or described in any printed publication in any country before their invention or discovery thereof, or more than two years prior to this application, or in public use or on sale in the United States for more than two years prior to this application; and that no application for patent on said improvement has been filed by them or their representatives or assignee in any country foreign to the United States.
It is interesting to see how similar the language is, and to learn that the statutory bar period used to be two years instead of one!