Signed or sworn Annual series. fication, and every application altered or partly filled upto in blank. after being signed or sworn to, will be stricken from the files. Completed applications are numbered in regular order, the present series having been commenced on the 1st of January, 1880. The applicant will be informed of the serial number of his application. Abandoned un The application must be completed and prepared for ex-1ess completed amination within two years after the filing of the petition; within two years. and in default thereof, or upon failure of the applicant to prosecute the same within two years after any action thereon (Rule 77), of which notice shall have been duly mailed to him or his agent, the application will be regarded as abandoned, unless it shall be shown to the satisfaction of the Commissioner that such delay was unavoidable. Rules 171, 172.) (See 1887-32. 32. It is desirable that all parts of the complete applica- All parts of aption should be deposited in the office at the same time, and plication to be filed together. that all the papers embraced in the application should be attached together; otherwise a letter must accompany each part, accurately and clearly connecting it with the other parts of the application. (See Rule 10.) THE PETITION. 33. The petition must be addressed to the Commissioner of Patents, and must state the name and residence of the petitioner requesting the grant of a patent, designate by title the invention sought to be patented, contain a reference to the specification for a full disclosure of such invention, and must be signed by the applicant. THE SPECIFICATION. Rev. Stat., sec. 34. The specification is a written description of the inven- 1887-34. tion or discovery, and of the manner and process of making, Specification. constructing, compounding, and using the same, and is required to be in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art or science to which the invention or discovery appertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make, construct, compound, and use the same. Rev. Stat., sec. Detailed de 35. The specification must set forth the precise invention 1887-35. for which a patent is solicited, and explain the principle 4888. thereof, and the best mode in which the applicant has con- scription. templated applying that principle, in such manner as to distinguish it from other inventions. 1887-36. Rev. Stat., sec. 36. In case of a mere improvement, the specification must particularly point out the parts to which the improvement 4888. Improvements. relates, and must by explicit language distinguish between what is old and what is claimed as new; and the description and the drawings, as well as the claims, should be confined to the specific improvement and such parts as necessarily coöperate with it. 1887-43. Rev. Stat., sec. 4888. Signature specifications. 1887-40. to Joinder of inventions. 1887-41. Division of application. 37. The specification must conclude with a specific and distinct claim or claims of the part, improvement, or combination which the applicant regards as his invention or discovery. 38. When there are drawings the description will refer to the different views by figures and to the different parts by letters or numerals (preferably the latter). 39. The following order of arrangement should be observed in framing the specification: (1) Preamble stating the name and residence of the (3) Brief description of the several views of the draw- (5) Claim or claims. (6) Signature of inventor. (7) Signatures of two witnesses. 40. The specification must be signed by the inventor or by his executor or administrator, and the signature must be attested by two witnesses. Full names must be given, and all names, whether of applicants or witnesses, must be legibly written. 41. Two or more independent inventions can not be claimed in one application; but where several distinct inventions are dependent upon each other and mutually contribute to produce a single result they may be claimed in one application. 42. If several inventions, claimed in a single application, be of such a nature that a single patent may not be issued to cover them, the inventor will be required to limit the description, drawing, and claim of the pending application to whichever invention he may elect. The other inventions may be made the subjects of separate applications, which must conform to the rules applicable to original applications. If the independence of the inventions be clear, such limitation will be made before any action upon the merits; otherwise it may be made at any time before final action thereon, in the discretion of the examiner. Cross-refer. lating to same 43. When an applicant files two or more applications re- 1887-42. lating to the same subject-matter of invention, all showing ences in cases rebut only one claiming the same thing, the applications not subject. claiming it must contain references to the application claiming it. per be plainly written 1887-44. 44. A reservation for a future application of subject-mat-Reservation ter disclosed but not claimed in a pending application, but mitted. which subject-matter might be claimed therein, will not be permitted in the pending application. 45. The specification and claims must or printed on but one side of the paper. All interlineations 4888. and erasures must be clearly referred to in marginal or foot required. notes on the same sheet of paper. Legal-cap paper with the lines numbered is deemed preferable, and a wide margin must always be reserved upon the left-hand side of the page. THE OATH. Legible writing 1887-45. Oath of appli 46. The applicant, if the inventor, must make oath or affirmation that he does verily believe himself to be the 4892. original and first inventor or discoverer of the art, machine, cant. manufacture, composition, or improvement for which he solicits a patent, that he does not know and does not believe that the same was ever before known or used, and shall state of what country he is a citizen and where he resides. In every original application the applicant must distinctly state, under oath, whether the invention has or has not been patented to himself, or to others with his knowledge or consent, in any country, and, if it has been, the country and public use. or countries in which it has been so patented, giving the date and number of each patent; and should also state that it has not been patented in any other country or countries than those mentioned, and that, according to his knowledge and belief, the invention has not been in public use or on sale in the United States for more than two years prior to the application in this country.* (See Rule 39.) If such application shall be found to be patentable, on the payment of the final fee, or at some time before patent shall issue, applicant shall file a statement setting forth, by date and number, so far as known, any patents for the same invention, granted to him or to others with his knowledge or consent, between the date of the execution of the application and the date of such payment. * NOTE. In all applications for letters patent filed in this office subsequent to October 24, 1882, the signature of the applicant is required to the oath, in accordance with Form 17, Appendix. Rev. Stat., secs. Statement as to foreign patents 4887, 4892. Additional The Commissioner may require an additional oath in cath. 1887-46. Rev. Stat.. sec. 4896. Oath by execu cases where the applications have not been filed in the Patent Office within a reasonable time after the execution of the original oath. 47. If the application be made by an executor or administrator, the form of the oath will be correspondingly tor or administra- changed. tor. Officers authorized to administer oaths. The oath or affirmation may be made before any person within the United States authorized by law to administer oaths, or, when the applicant resides in a foreign country, before any minister, chargé d'affaires, consul, or commercial agent holding commission under the Government of the United States, or before any notary public of the foreign country in which the applicant may be, the oath being attested in all cases, in this and other countries, by the proper official seal of the officer before whom the oath or affirmation is made. When the person before whom the oath or affirmation is made is not provided with a seal his official character shall be established by competent evidence, as by a certificate from a clerk of a court of record or other proper officer having a seal.* 48. In case the applicant seeks by amendment to introSupplemental duce any claim not substantially embraced in the statement ment embracing of invention or claim originally presented, and therefore not covered by the original oath, he will be required to file a supplemental oath to the effect that the subject-matter of the proposed amendment was part of his invention and was invented before he filed his original application, and such supplemental oath must be attached to and properly identify the proposed amendment. (Rule 70.) 1887-47. oath to amend new matter. 1887-48. Rev. Stat., sec. 4889. Drawings. 1887-49. Requisites of drawings. THE DRAWINGS. 49. The applicant for a patent is required by law to furnish a drawing of his invention whenever the nature of the case admits of it. 50. The drawing may be signed by the inventor, or the name of the inventor may be signed on the drawing by his attorney in fact, and must be attested by two witnesses. The drawing must show every feature of the invention covered by the claims. When the invention consists of an improvement on an old machine, the drawing must exhibit, in one or more views, the invention itself, disconnected from the old structure, and also, in another view, so much only of * A certificate of the official character of a magistrate, stating date of appointment and term of office, may be filed in the Patent Office, which will obviate the necessity of separate certificates in individual cases. the old structure as will suffice to show the connection of the invention therewith. Three editions 51. Three several editions of patent-drawings are printed 1887-50. and published: one for office use, certified copies, etc., of of drawings. the size and character of those attached to patents, the work being about 6 by 9 inches; one reduced to half that scale, or one-fourth the surface, of which four are printed on a page to illustrate the volumes distributed to the courts; and one reduction to about the same scale-of a selected portion of each drawing for the Official Gazette. Uniform stand This work is done by the photolithographic process, and (1) Drawings must be made upon pure white paper of Paper and ink. (2) The size of a sheet on which a drawing is made must Size of sheet and marginal lines. color of lines. (3) All drawings must be made with the pen only. Character and little or no shad (4) Drawings should be made with the fewest lines, Few lines and possible consistent with clearness. By the observ- ing. |