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35 U.S.C. § 371 — National stage: Commencement
Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
**(a)** Receipt from the International Bureau of copies of international applications with any amendments to the claims, international search reports, and international preliminary examination reports including any annexes thereto may be required in the case of international applications designating or electing the United States.
**(b)** Subject to subsection (f) of this section, the national stage shall commence with the expiration of the applicable time limit under article 22(1) or (2), or under article 39(1)(a) of the treaty.
**(c)** The applicant shall file in the Patent and Trademark Office—
(1) the national fee provided in section 41(a);
(2) a copy of the international application, unless not required under subsection (a) of this section or already communicated by the International Bureau, and a translation into the English language of the international application, if it was filed in another language;
(3) amendments, if any, to the claims in the international application, made under article 19 of the treaty, unless such amendments have been communicated to the Patent and Trademark Office by the International Bureau, and a translation into the English language if such amendments were made in another language;
(4) an oath or declaration of the inventor (or other person authorized under chapter 11) complying with the requirements of section 115 and with regulations prescribed for oaths or declarations of applicants;
(5) a translation into the English language of any annexes to the international preliminary examination report, if such annexes were made in another language.
**(d)** The requirements with respect to the national fee referred to in subsection (c)(1), the translation referred to in subsection (c)(2), and the oath or declaration referred to in subs
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Source location: Title 35, Chapter 37, § 371; chapter-037-national-stage.md
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**(a)** Receipt from the International Bureau of copies of international applications with any amendments to the claims, international search reports, and international preliminary examination reports including any annexes thereto may be required in the case of international applications designating or electing the United States.
**(b)** Subject to subsection (f) of this section, the national stage shall commence with the expiration of the applicable time limit under article 22(1) or (2), or under article 39(1)(a) of the treaty.
**(c)** The applicant shall file in the Patent and Trademark Office—
(1) the national fee provided in section 41(a);
(2) a copy of the international application, unless not required under subsection (a) of this section or already communicated by the International Bureau, and a translation into the English language of the international application, if it was filed in another language;
(3) amendments, if any, to the claims in the international application, made under article 19 of the treaty, unless such amendments have been communicated to the Patent and Trademark Office by the International Bureau, and a translation into the English language if such amendments were made in another language;
(4) an oath or declaration of the inventor (or other person authorized under chapter 11) complying with the requirements of section 115 and with regulations prescribed for oaths or declarations of applicants;
(5) a translation into the English language of any annexes to the international preliminary examination report, if such annexes were made in another language.
**(d)** The requirements with respect to the national fee referred to in subsection (c)(1), the translation referred to in subsection (c)(2), and the oath or declaration referred to in subsection (c)(4) of this section shall be complied with by the date of the commencement of the national stage or by such later time as may be fixed by the Director. The copy of the international application referred to in subsection (c)(2) shall be submitted by the date of the commencement of the national stage. Failure to comply with these requirements shall be regarded as abandonment of the application by the parties thereof. The payment of a surcharge may be required as a condition of accepting the national fee referred to in subsection (c)(1) or the oath or declaration referred to in subsection (c)(4) of this section if these requirements are not met by the date of the commencement of the national stage. The requirements of subsection (c)(3) of this section shall be complied with by the date of the commencement of the national stage, and failure to do so shall be regarded as a cancellation of the amendments to the claims in the international application made under article 19 of the treaty. The requirement of subsection (c)(5) shall be complied with at such time as may be fixed by the Director and failure to do so shall be regarded as cancellation of the amendments made under article 34(2)(b) of the treaty.
**(e)** After an international application has entered the national stage, no patent may be granted or refused thereon before the expiration of the applicable time limit under article 28 or article 41 of the treaty, except with the express consent of the applicant. The applicant may present amendments to the specification, claims and drawings of the application after the national stage has commenced.
**(f)** At the express request of the applicant, the national stage of processing may be commenced at any time at which the application is in order for such purpose and the applicable requirements of subsection (c) of this section have been complied with.
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
The Director may establish procedures, including the requirement for payment of the fee specified in section 41(a)(7), to revive an unintentionally abandoned application for patent, accept an unintentionally delayed payment of the fee for issuing each patent, or accept an unintentionally delayed response by the patent owner in a reexamination proceeding, upon petition by the applicant for patent or patent owner.
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
**(a) Under Secretary and Director.—**
(1) **In general.—** — The powers and duties of the United States Patent and Trademark Office shall be vested in an Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (in this title referred to as the “Director”), who shall be a citizen of the United States and who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Director shall be a person who has a professional background and experience in patent or trademark law.
(2) **Duties.—**
(A) *In general.—* — The Director shall be responsible for providing policy direction and management supervision for the Office and for the issuance of patents and the registration of trademarks. The Director shall perform these duties in a fair, impartial, and equitable manner.
(B) *Consulting with the public advisory committees.—* — The Director shall consult with the Patent Public Advisory Committee established in section 5 on a regular basis on matters relating to the patent operations of the Office, shall consult with the Trademark Public Advisory Committee established in section 5 on a regular basis on matters relating to the trademark operations of the Office, and shall consult with the respective Public Advisory Committee before submitting budgetary proposals to the Office of Management and Budget or changing or proposing to change patent or trademark user fees or patent or trademark regulations which are subject to the requirement to provide notice and opportunity for public comment under [section 553 of title 5](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title5-section553&num=0&edition=prelim), as the case may be.
(3) **Oath.—** — The Director shall, before takin
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
**(a) Establishment.—** The United States Patent and Trademark Office is established as an agency of the United States, within the Department of Commerce. In carrying out its functions, the United States Patent and Trademark Office shall be subject to the policy direction of the Secretary of Commerce, but otherwise shall retain responsibility for decisions regarding the management and administration of its operations and shall exercise independent control of its budget allocations and expenditures, personnel decisions and processes, procurements, and other administrative and management functions in accordance with this title and applicable provisions of law. Those operations designed to grant and issue patents and those operations which are designed to facilitate the registration of trademarks shall be treated as separate operating units within the Office.
**(b) Offices.—** The United States Patent and Trademark Office shall maintain its principal office in the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area, for the service of process and papers and for the purpose of carrying out its functions. The United States Patent and Trademark Office shall be deemed, for purposes of venue in civil actions, to be a resident of the district in which its principal office is located, except where jurisdiction is otherwise provided by law. The United States Patent and Trademark Office may establish satellite offices in such other places in the United States as it considers necessary and appropriate in the conduct of its business.
**(c) Reference.—** For purposes of this title, the United States Patent and Trademark Office shall also be referred to as the “Office” and the “Patent and Trademark Office”.
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
When used in this part unless the context otherwise indicates—
**(a)** The term “treaty” means the Patent Cooperation Treaty done at Washington, on June 19, 1970.
**(b)** The term “Regulations”, when capitalized, means the Regulations under the treaty, done at Washington on the same date as the treaty. The term “regulations”, when not capitalized, means the regulations established by the Director under this title.
**(c)** The term “international application” means an application filed under the treaty.
**(d)** The term “international application originating in the United States” means an international application filed in the Patent and Trademark Office when it is acting as a Receiving Office under the treaty, irrespective of whether or not the United States has been designated in that international application.
**(e)** The term “international application designating the United States” means an international application specifying the United States as a country in which a patent is sought, regardless where such international application is filed.
**(f)** The term “Receiving Office” means a national patent office or intergovernmental organization which receives and processes international applications as prescribed by the treaty and the Regulations.
**(g)** The terms “International Searching Authority” and “International Preliminary Examining Authority” mean a national patent office or intergovernmental organization as appointed under the treaty which processes international applications as prescribed by the treaty and the Regulations.
**(h)** The term “International Bureau” means the international intergovernmental organization which is recognized as the coordinating body under the treaty and the Regulations.
**(i)** Terms and expressions not defined in this pa
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
**(a) In General.—** The United States Patent and Trademark Office, subject to the policy direction of the Secretary of Commerce—
(1) shall be responsible for the granting and issuing of patents and the registration of trademarks; and
(2) shall be responsible for disseminating to the public information with respect to patents and trademarks.
**(b) Specific Powers.—** The Office—
(1) shall adopt and use a seal of the Office, which shall be judicially noticed and with which letters patent, certificates of trademark registrations, and papers issued by the Office shall be authenticated;
(2) may establish regulations, not inconsistent with law, which—
(A) shall govern the conduct of proceedings in the Office;
(B) shall be made in accordance with [section 553 of title 5](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title5-section553&num=0&edition=prelim);
(C) shall facilitate and expedite the processing of patent applications, particularly those which can be filed, stored, processed, searched, and retrieved electronically, subject to the provisions of section 122 relating to the confidential status of applications;
(D) may govern the recognition and conduct of agents, attorneys, or other persons representing applicants or other parties before the Office, and may require them, before being recognized as representatives of applicants or other persons, to show that they are of good moral character and reputation and are possessed of the necessary qualifications to render to applicants or other persons valuable service, advice, and assistance in the presentation or prosecution of their applications or other business before the Office;
(E) shall recognize the public interest in continuing to safeguard broad access to the United States patent sys
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
**(a)** Whenever, on examination, any claim for a patent is rejected, or any objection or requirement made, the Director shall notify the applicant thereof, stating the reasons for such rejection, or objection or requirement, together with such information and references as may be useful in judging of the propriety of continuing the prosecution of his application; and if after receiving such notice, the applicant persists in his claim for a patent, with or without amendment, the application shall be reexamined. No amendment shall introduce new matter into the disclosure of the invention.
**(b)** The Director shall prescribe regulations to provide for the continued examination of applications for patent at the request of the applicant. The Director may establish appropriate fees for such continued examination and shall provide a 50 percent reduction in such fees for small entities that qualify for reduced fees under section 41(h)(1).
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
**(a) In General.—**
(1) **Contents.—** — Every patent shall contain a short title of the invention and a grant to the patentee, his heirs or assigns, of the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling the invention throughout the United States or importing the invention into the United States, and, if the invention is a process, of the right to exclude others from using, offering for sale or selling throughout the United States, or importing into the United States, products made by that process, referring to the specification for the particulars thereof.
(2) **Term.—** — Subject to the payment of fees under this title, such grant shall be for a term beginning on the date on which the patent issues and ending 20 years from the date on which the application for the patent was filed in the United States or, if the application contains a specific reference to an earlier filed application or applications under section 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c), from the date on which the earliest such application was filed.
(3) **Priority.—** — Priority under section 119, 365(a), 365(b), 386(a), or 386(b) shall not be taken into account in determining the term of a patent.
(4) **Specification and drawing.—** — A copy of the specification and drawing shall be annexed to the patent and be a part of such patent.
**(b) Adjustment of Patent Term.—**
(1) **Patent term guarantees.—**
(A) *Guarantee of prompt patent and trademark office responses.—* — Subject to the limitations under paragraph (2), if the issue of an original patent is delayed due to the failure of the Patent and Trademark Office to—
(i) provide at least one of the notifications under section 132 or a notice of allowance under section 151 not later than 14 months after—
(I) the d
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
**(a) General Fees.—** The Director shall charge the following fees:
(1) **Filing and basic national fees.—**
(A) On filing each application for an original patent, except for design, plant, or provisional applications, $330.
(B) On filing each application for an original design patent, $220.
(C) On filing each application for an original plant patent, $220.
(D) On filing each provisional application for an original patent, $220.
(E) On filing each application for the reissue of a patent, $330.
(F) The basic national fee for each international application filed under the treaty defined in section 351(a) entering the national stage under section 371, $330.
(G) In addition, excluding any sequence listing or computer program listing filed in an electronic medium as prescribed by the Director, for any application the specification and drawings of which exceed 100 sheets of paper (or equivalent as prescribed by the Director if filed in an electronic medium), $270 for each additional 50 sheets of paper (or equivalent as prescribed by the Director if filed in an electronic medium) or fraction thereof.
(2) **Excess claims fees.—**
(A) *In general.—* — In addition to the fee specified in paragraph (1)—
(i) on filing or on presentation at any other time, $220 for each claim in independent form in excess of 3;
(ii) on filing or on presentation at any other time, $52 for each claim (whether dependent or independent) in excess of 20; and
(iii) for each application containing a multiple dependent claim, $390.
(B) *Multiple dependent claims.—* — For the purpose of computing fees under subparagraph (A), a multiple dependent claim referred to in section 112 or any claim depending therefrom shall be considered as separate dependent claims in ac
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
Page 141
TITLE 35—PATENTS
§ 371
(Added Pub. L. 94–131, § 1, Nov. 14, 1975, 89 Stat.
687; amended Pub. L. 98–622, title IV, § 403(a),
Nov. 8, 1984, 98 Stat. 3392; Pub. L. 106–113, div. B,
§ 1000(a)(9) [title IV, § 4732(a)(10)(A)], Nov. 29,
1999, 113 Stat. 1536, 1501A–582; Pub. L. 107–273,
div. C, title III, § 13206(b)(1)(B), Nov. 2, 2002, 116
Stat. 1906.)
Editorial Notes
AMENDMENTS
2002—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 107–273 made technical cor-
rection to directory language of Pub. L. 106–113. See
1999 Amendment note below.
1999—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 106–113, as amended by Pub.
L. 107–273, substituted ‘‘Director’’ for ‘‘Commissioner’’.
1984—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 98–622 substituted ‘‘Patent
and Trademark Office’’ for ‘‘Patent Office’’.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1999 AMENDMENT
Amendment by Pub. L. 106–113 effective 4 months
after Nov. 29, 1999, see section 1000(a)(9) [title IV, § 4731]
of Pub. L. 106–113, set out as a note under section 1 of
this title.
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1984 AMENDMENT
Amendment by Pub. L. 98–622 effective Nov. 8, 1984,
see section 406(a) of Pub. L. 98–622, set out as a note
under section 351 of this title.
EFFECTIVE DATE
Section effective Jan. 24, 1978, and applicable to
international and national applications filed on and
after that date, see section 11 of Pub. L. 94–131, set out
as a note under section 351 of this title.
§ 368. Secrecy of certain inventions; filing inter-
national applications in foreign countries
(a) International applications filed in the Pat-
ent and Trademark Office shall be subject to the
provisions of chapter 17.
(b) In accordance with article 27(8) of the trea-
ty, the filing of an international application in
a country other than the United States on the
invention made in thi
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