Return To Section Contents
<<<Previous Page | Next Page>>>
Page1 |Page2 |Page3 |Page4 |Page5 |Page6 |Page7 |Page8 |Page9 |Page10 |Page11 |Page12 |Page13 |Page14 |Page15 |Page16 |Page17 |Page18 |Page19 |Page20 |Page21 |Page22 |Page23 |
own as the Patent Cooperation Treaty,
was negotiated at a diplomatic conference in Washington, D.C.
in June of 1970. The treaty came into force on January 24,
1978, and is presently adhered to by 44 countries, including
the United States. The treaty facilitates the filing of
applications for patent on the same invention in member
countries by providing, among other things, for centralized
filing procedures and a standardized application format.
The timely filing of an international application affords
applicants an international filing date in each country which
is designated in the international application and provides (1)
a. search of the invention and (2) a later time period within
which the national applications for patent must be filed.
A number of patent attorneys specialize in obtaining
patents in foreign countries. In general, an inventor should be
satisfied that he could make some profit from foreign patents
or that there is some particular reason |or obtaining them,
before he attempts to apply for foreign patents.
Under United States law it is necessary, in the case.of
inventions made in the United States, to obtain a license from
the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks before applying for
a patent in a foreign country. Such a license is required if
the foreign application is to be filed before an application is
filed in the United States or before the expiration of six
months from the filing of an application in the United States.
The filing of an application for patent constitutes the request
for a license and the granting or denial of such request is
indicated in the filing receipt mailed to each applicant. After
six months from the United States filing, a license is not
required unless the invention has been ordered to be kept
secret. If the invention has been ordered to be kept secret,
the consent to the filing abroad must be obtained from the
Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks during the period the
order of secrecy is in effect.
FOREIGN APPLICANTS FOR UNITED STATES PATENTS
The patent laws of the United States make no
discrimination with respect to the citizenship of the inventor.
Any inventor, regardless of his citizenship, may apply for a
patent on the same basis as a U.S. citizen. There are, however,
a number of particular points of special interest to applicants
located in foreign countries.
The application for patent in the United States must be
made by the inventor and the inventor must sign the oath or
declaration (with certain exceptions), differing from the law
in many countries where the signature of the inventor and an
oath of inventorship are not necessary. If the inventor is
dead, the application may be made by his executor or
administrator, or equivalent, and in the case of mental
disability it may be made by his legal representative
(guardian).
No United States patent can be obtained if the invention
was patented abroad before applying in the United States by the
inventor or his legal representatives or assigns on an
application filed more than 12 months before filing in the
United States. Six months are allowed in the case of a design
patent.
An application for a patent filed in the United States by
any person who has previously regularly filed an application
for a patent for the same invention in a foreign country which
affords similar privileges to citizens of the United States
shall have the same force and effect for the purpose of
overcoming intervening acts of others as if filed in the United
States on the date on which the application for a patent for
the same invention was first filed in such foreign country,
provided the application in the United States is filed within
12 months (six months in the case of a design patent) from the
earliest date on which any such foreign application was filed.
A copy of the foreign application certified by the patent
office of the country in which it was filed is required to
secure this right of priority.
If any application for patent has been filed in any
foreign country by the applicant or by his legal
representatives or assigns prior to his application in the
United States, the applicant must, in the oath or declaration
accompanying the application, state the country in which the
earliest such application has been filed, giving the date of
filing the application; and all applications filed more than a
year before the filing in the United States must also be
recited in the oath or declaration.
An oath or declaration must be made with respect to every
application. When the applicant is in a foreign country the
oath or affirmation may be before any diplomatic or consular
officer of the United States, or before any officer having an
official seal and authorized to administer oaths in the foreign
country, whose authority shall be proved by a certificate of a
diplomatic or consul
<<<Previous Page | Next Page>>>
Page1 |Page2 |Page3 |Page4 |Page5 |Page6 |Page7 |Page8 |Page9 |Page10 |Page11 |Page12 |Page13 |Page14 |Page15 |Page16 |Page17 |Page18 |Page19 |Page20 |Page21 |Page22 |Page23 |
|
|