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605.04(a) Applicant's Signature and Name [R-7] - 600 Parts, Form, and Content of Application
605.04(a) Applicant's Signature and Name [R-7]
37 CFR 1.64 Person making oath or declaration.
(a) The oath or declaration (§ 1.63), including any supplemental oath or declaration (§ 1.67), must be made by all of the actual inventors except as provided for in §§ 1.42, 1.43, 1.47, or § 1.67.
(b) If the person making the oath or declaration or any supplemental oath or declaration is not the inventor (§§ 1.42, 1.43, 1.47, or § 1.67), the oath or declaration shall state the relationship of the person to the inventor, and, upon information and belief, the facts which the inventor is required to state. If the person signing the oath or declaration is the legal representative of a deceased inventor, the oath or declaration shall also state that the person is a legal representative and the citizenship, residence, and mailing address of the legal representative.
I. EXECUTION OF OATHS OR DECLARATIONS OF PATENT APPLICATIONS
United States patent applications which have not been prepared and executed in accordance with the requirements of Title 35 of the United States Code and Title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations may be abandoned. Although the statute and the rules have been in existence for many years, the Office continues to receive a number of applications which have been improperly executed and/or filed. Since the improper execution and/or filing of patent applications can ultimately result in a loss of rights, it is appropriate to emphasize the importance of proper execution and filing.
There is no requirement that a signature be made in any particular manner. See MPEP § 605.04(d). If applicant signs his or her name using non-English characters, then such a signature will be accepted.
Applications filed through the Electronic Filing System must also contain an oath or declaration personally signed by the inventor.
It is improper for an applicant to sign an oath or declaration which is not attached to or does not identify a specification and/or claims.
Attached does not necessarily mean that all the papers must be literally fastened. It is sufficient that the specification, including the claims, and the oath or declaration are physically located together at the time of execution. Physical connection is not required. Copies of declarations are encouraged. See MPEP § 502.01, § 502.02, § 602, and § 602.05(a).
An oath or declaration under 37 CFR 1.63 by each actual inventor must be presented. While each inventor need not execute the same oath or declaration, each oath or declaration executed by an inventor must contain a complete listing of all inventors so as to clearly indicate what each inventor believes to be the appropriate inventive entity. >Where individual declarations are executed, they must be submitted as individual declarations rather than combined into one declaration (by combining the signature pages).<
The provisions of 35 U.S.C. 363 for filing an international application under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) which designates the United States and thereby has the effect of a regularly filed United States national application, except as provided in 35 U.S.C. 102(e), are somewhat different than the provisions of 35 U.S.C. 111. The oath or declaration requirements for an international application before the Patent and Trademark Office are set forth in 35 U.S.C. 371(c)(4) and 37 CFR 1.497.
37 CFR 1.52(c)(1) states that "[a]ny interlineation, erasure, cancellation or other alteration of the application papers filed must be made before the signing of any accompanying oath or declaration pursuant to § 1.63 referring to those application papers and should be dated and initialed or signed by the applicant on the same sheet of paper. Application papers containing alterations made after the signing of an oath or declaration referring to those application papers must be supported by a supplemental oath or declaration under § 1.67. In either situation, a substitute specification (§ 1.125) is required if the application papers do not comply with paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section." 37 CFR 1.52(c)(2) states that after the signing of the oath or declaration referring to the application papers, amendments may only be made in the manner provided by 37 CFR 1.121. An application submitted through the electronic filing system (EFS) may include scanned images of a declaration executed by the inventor. The reformatting of an application in submitting the specification of the application using EFS, is not an "alteration of the application papers" requiring a substitute oath or declaration. It is acceptable to print out a copy of the specification prepared using traditional word processing software for the inventor to review as he or she signs the oath or declaration, and then cut and paste from the electronic document to prepare the EFS version of the specification and to submit a scanned copy of the declaration with the EFS submission.
In summary, it is emphasized that the application filed must be the application executed by the applicant and it is improper for anyone, including counsel, to alter, rewrite, or partly fill in any part of the application, including the oath or declaration, after execution of the oath or declaration by the applicant. This provision should particularly be brought to the attention of foreign applicants by their United States counsel since the United States law and practice in this area may differ from that in other countries.
Any changes made in ink in the application or oath prior to signing should be initialed and dated by the applicants prior to execution of the oath or declaration. The Office ** will require a new oath or declaration >if the alterations are not initialed and dated<. Form paragraph 6.02.01 may be used to call noninitialed and/or nondated alterations to applicant's attention.
**> ¶ 6.02.01 Non-Initialed and/or Non-Dated Alterations in Application PapersThe application is objected to because of alterations which have not been initialed and/or dated as is required by 37 CFR 1.52(c). A properly executed oath or declaration which complies with 37 CFR 1.67(a) and identifies the application by application number and filing date is required.
<The signing and execution by the applicant of oaths or declarations in certain continuation or divisional applications may be omitted. See MPEP § 201.06, § 201.07, and § 602.05(a).
For the signature on a reply, see MPEP § 714.01(a) to § 714.01(d).
II. EXECUTION OF OATH OR DECLARATION ON BEHALF OF INVENTOR
The oath or declaration required by 35 U.S.C. 115 must be signed by all of the actual inventors, except under limited circumstances. 35 U.S.C. 116 provides that joint inventors can sign on behalf of an inventor who cannot be reached or refuses to join. See MPEP § 409.03(a). 35 U.S.C. 117 provides that the legal representative of a deceased or incapacitated inventor can sign on behalf of the inventor. If a legal representative executes an oath or declaration on behalf of a deceased inventor, the legal representative must state that the person is a legal representative and provide the citizenship, residence, and mailing address of the legal representative. See 37 CFR 1.64, MPEP § 409.01 and § 409.02. 35 U.S.C. 118 provides that a party with proprietary interest in the invention claimed in an application can sign on behalf of the inventor, if the inventor cannot be reached or refuses to join in the filing of the application. See MPEP § 409.03(b) and § 409.03(f). The oath or declaration may not be signed by an attorney on behalf of the inventor, even if the attorney has been given a power of attorney to do so. Opinion of Hon. Edward Bates, 10 Op. Atty. Gen. 137 (1861). See also Staeger v. Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks, 189 USPQ 272 (D.D.C. 1976) and In re Striker, 182 USPQ 507 (PTO Solicitor 1973) (In each case, an oath or declaration signed by the attorney on behalf of the inventor was defective because the attorney did not have a proprietary interest in the invention.).
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