R. S. 4928. Operation of Extension, 242. Act of March 3, 1883, ch. 143, 242. Patents to Government Officers for Inventions to Be Used in Public Service, 242. Act of Feb. 9, 1893, ch. 74, 242. Sec. 9. Appeals from the Commissioner to the Circuit Court of Act of March 3, 1897, ch. 391, 249. Sec. 7. Heads of Departments Requesting Expedition, to Be Represented, 249. 8. Effect, 249. III. Assignments, 249. R. S. 4898. Assignments of Patents, 249. IV. Marking Patented Articles, 283. R. S. 4900. Patented Articles Must Be Marked as Such, 283. R. S. 4901. Penalty for Falsely Marking or Labeling Articles as Patented, 285. V. Suits for Infringement, 288. R. S. 4919. Suits for Infringement; Damages, 288. R. S. 4920. Pleading and Proof in Actions for Infringement, 309. R. S. 4922. Suit for Infringement Where Specification Is Too Broad, 372. Act of Feb. 16, 1875, ch. 77, 374. Sec. 2. Trial by Jury of Questions of Fact in Equity Cases, 374. Act of June 25, 1910, ch. 423, 375. Recovery for Unlicensed Use of Patent by United States Claims Barred-Defenses Allowed Patents by Government Employees, 375. VI. Design Patents, 377. R. S. 4929. Patents for Designs Authorized, 377. R. S. 4930. Models of Designs, 382. R. S. 4931. Duration of Patents for Designs, 383. R. S. 4932. Extension of Patents for Designs, 383. R. S. 4933. Patents for Designs Subject to General Rules of Patent Act of Feb. 4, 1887, ch. 105, 383. Sec. 1. Unauthorized Use of Patented Design - Penalty and Liability-Suits, 383. VII. Fees, 385. 2. Remedy by Existing Law, 385. R. S. 4934. Fees in Obtaining Patents, etc., 385. R. S. 4936. Refunding, 386. CROSS-REFERENCES Title of Trustee in Bankruptcy, see BANKRUPTCY. Costs in Patent Cases, see COSTS. Jurisdiction in Suits Arising under Patent Laws, see JUDICIARY. Patents for Public Lands, see MINERAL LANDS, MINES AND MINING; PUBLIC LANDS. Patented Articles on Naval Vessels, see NAVY. Forgery of Letters Patent, see PENAL LAWS. Printing and Distribution of Patent Office Documents, see PUBLIC DOCUMENTS; PUBLIC PRINTING. Patents for Inventions Relating to Terms and Ordnance, see WAR DEPARTMENT AND MILITARY ESTABLISHMENT. I. THE PATENT OFFICE Sec. 475. [Establishment of the Patent Office.] There shall be in the Department of the Interior an office known as the Patent-Office, where all records, books, models, drawings, specifications, and other papers and things pertaining to patents shall be safely kept and preserved. [R. S.] Act of July 8, 1870, ch. 230, 16 Stat. L. 198. Sections 475-496 constitute chapter 6 ("The Patent Office") of title 11 (“The Department of the Interior") of the Revised Statutes. • The Constitution of the United States provides that "the Congress shall have power to promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries (Art. I, sec. 8). See the Constitution annotated given at the close of this work. Where located. The patent office is in the Department of the Interior, which is one of the executive departments of the government at the seat of government in the District of Columbia. Butterworth v. Hill, (1885) 114 U. S. 128, 5 S. Ct. 796, 29 U. S. (L. ed.) 119. Sec. 476. [Officers and employees.] There shall be in the Patent-Office a Commissioner of Patents, one Assistant Commissioner, and three examiners-in-chief, who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. All other officers, clerks, and employés authorized by law for the Office shall be appointed by the Secretary of the Interior, upon the nomination of the Commissioner of Patents. [R. S.] Act of July 8, 1870, ch. 230, 16 Stat. L. 198. By an Act of Feb. 15, 1916, this section was amended to read as follows: "SEC. 476. There shall be in the Patent Office a Commissioner of Patents, one first assistant commissioner, one assistant commissioner, and five examiners in chief, who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The first assistant commissioner and the assistant commissioner shall perform such duties pertaining to the office of commissioner as may be assigned to them, respectively, from time to time by the Commissioner of Patents. All other officers, clerks, and employees authorized by law for the office shall be appointed by the Secretary of the Interior upon the nomination of the Commissioner of Patents, in accordance with existing law." See Pamph. Supp. No. 6, Fed. Stat. Ann. 4; 1918 Supp. Fed. Stat. Ann. As so amended it superseded a provision of the Act of July 16, 1914, ch. 14, § 1, infra, p. 10, and similar provisions relating to the first assistant commissioner and assistant commissioner which had appeared in the Appropriation Acts for previous years. The Legislative, Executive and Judicial Appropriation Act of March 4, 1915, ch. 141, 38 Stat. L. 1032, provided for a "private secretary to be selected and appointed by the commissioner, $1,800." Similar provisions have appeared in the Appropriation Acts for preceding years. See also R. S. sec. 440 given under INTERIOR DEPARTMENT, vol. 3, p. 945. Residence of commissioner.-The commissioner of patents is by law located in the patent office. His official residence is therefore at Washington, in the District of Columbia. Butterworth v. Hill, (1885) 114 U. S. 128, 5 S. Ct. 796, 29 U. S. (L. ed.) 119. Sec. 477. [Salaries.] The salaries of the officers mentioned in the preceding section shall be as follows: The Commissioner of Patents, four thousand five hundred dollars a year. The Assistant Commissioner of Patents, three thousand dollars a year. Three examiners-in-chief, three thousand dollars a year each. [R. S.] Act of July 8, 1870, ch. 230, 16 Stat. L. 199. By an Act of Feb. 15, 1916, this section was amended to read as follows: SEC. 477. The salaries of the officers mentioned in the preceding section shall be as follows: The Commissioner of Patents, $5,000 a year. "The First Assistant Commissioner of Patents, $4,500 a year. "The Assistant Commissioner of Patents, $3,500 a year. "Five examiners in chief, $3,500 a year each." See Pamph. Supp. No. 6, Fed. Stat. Ann. 4; 1918 Supp. Fed. Stat. Ann. R. S. sec. 478 relating to the seal of the Patent Office is given under SEALS. Sec. 479. [Bonds of Commissioner and chief clerk.] The Commissioner of Patents and the chief clerk, before entering upon their duties, shall severally give bond, with sureties, to the Treasurer of the United States, the former in the sum of ten thousand dollars, and the latter in the sum of five thousand dollars, conditioned for the faithful discharge of their respective duties, and that they shall render to the proper officers of the Treasury a true account of all money received by virtue of their offices. [R. S.] Act of July 8, 1870, ch. 230, 16 Stat. L. 199. Form of bond. The form of the bond is impliedly left by Congress to be regulated or fixed by the officers by whom the bonds are to be approved. Bonds, etc., (1885) 18 Op. Atty. Gen. 274. Sec. 480. [Restrictions upon officers and employees.] All officers and employés of the Patent-Office shall be incapable, during the period for which they hold their appointments, to acquire or take, directly or indirectly, except by inheritance or bequest, any right or interest in any patent issued by the Office. [R. S.] Act of July 8, 1870, ch. 230, 16 Stat. L. 200. After expiration of term of office. The law does not disqualify a commissioner of patents from obtaining a patent after his term of office has expired, for an invention made by him while holding such office, and in such case the invention will date back to the time when it was actually made, although he could not have obtained a patent for it. Foote v. Frost, (1878) 3 B. & A. Pat. Cas. 607, 9 Fed. Cas. No. 4,910. Sec. 481. [Duties of Commissioner.] The Commissioner of Patents, under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, shall superintend or perform all duties respecting the granting and issuing of patents directed by law; and he shall have charge of all books, records, papers, models, machines, and other things belonging to the Patent-Office. [R. S.] Act of July 8, 1870, ch. 230, 16 Stat. L. 199. By an Act of June 10, 1898, ch. 423, 30 Stat. L. 440, the commissioner of patents was authorized to revise and perfect the classification by subject matter, of all letters patent and printed publications in the patent office, and was authorized to appoint certain additional employees to carry out the provisions of the Act. Authority of Secretary of Interior.--The supervision and direction of the head of the department do not extend to a review of the action of the commissioner of patents in those cases in which by law he is appointed to exercise his discretion judicially, and where a patent has been is sued by the commissioner an appeal from his decision does not lie to the Secretary of the Interior. Butterworth v. U. S., (1884) 112 U. S. 50, 5 S. Ct. 25, 28 U. S. (L. ed.) 656, overruling (1881) 17 Op. Atty. Gen. 205. Sec. 482. [Duties of examiners-in-chief.] The examiners-in-chief shall be persons of competent legal knowledge and scientific ability, whose duty it shall be, on the written petition of the appellant, to revise and determine upon the validity of the adverse decisions of examiners upon applications for patents, and for re-issues of patents, and in interference cases; and, when required by the Commissioner, they shall hear and report upon claims for extensions, and perform such other like duties as he may assign them. [R. S.] Act of July 8, 1870, ch. 230, 16 Stat. L. 199. Sec. 483. [Establishment of regulations.] The Commissioner of Patents, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, may from time to time establish regulations, not inconsistent with law, for the conduct of proceedings in the Patent-Office. [R. S.] Act of July 8, 1870, ch. 230, 16 Stat. L. 200. Effect of regulations on rules of evidence. A rule established under the authority of this section so far as it regulates the conduct of proceedings in the patent office is binding upon all the subordinates in that office, possibly also upon the commissioner of patents himself unless he obtains the assent of the Secretary of the Interior to its total or partial abrogation, but it is inoperative to change the rules of evidence in courts of justice, both because to that extent it would be inconsistent with law and also because the effecting of such a change is in no sense the regulation of proceedings in the patent office. Therefore, a rule providing that caveats and pending applications are to be preserved in secrecy does not excuse the refusal to produce papers admissible in evidence demanded by a subpœna duces tecum. Edison Electric Light Co. r. U. S. Electric Lighting Co., (S. D. N. Y. 1890) 44 Fed. 294. Validity of rules generally. The rules of practice of the patent office, when not inconsistent with the statutes relating to the patent system, have the force and effect of law in all matters to which they relate, and are not to be declared invalid on any strained or doubtful construction. U. S. v. Allen, (1903) 22 App. Cas. (D. C.) 56. Validity of rule limiting appeals. It will not be unlawful for the commissioner of patents, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, to promulgate a rule limiting appeals to six months from the time when the matter is in condition for appeal. Commissioner of Patents, (1895) 21 Op. Atty. Gen. 122. Sec. 484. [Arrangement and exhibition of models, etc.] The Commissioner of Patents shall cause to be classified and arranged in suitable cases, in the rooms and galleries provided for that purpose, the models, specimens of composition, fabrics, manufactures, works of art, and designs, which have been or shall be deposited in the Patent-Office; and the rooms and galleries shall be kept open during suitable hours for public inspection. [R. S.] Act of July 8, 1870, ch. 230, 16 Stat. L. 200. Further provisions relating to models were made by the Act of March 4, 1909, ch. 298, § 1, infra, p. 10. See the notes to said section. Cases for models.- Cases for the arrangement and exhibition of models may be procured either by contract or by purchase. (1852) 5 Op. Atty.-Gen. 663. Sec. 485. [Disposals of models on rejected applications.] The Commissioner of Patents may restore to the respective applicants such of the models belonging to rejected applications as he shall not think necessary to be preserved, or he may sell or otherwise dispose of them after the application has been finally rejected for one year, paying the proceeds into the Treasury, as other patent-moneys are directed to be paid. [R. S.] Act of July 8, 1870, ch. 230, 16 Stat. L. 200. Sec. 486. [Library.] There shall be purchased for the use of the Patent-Office a library of such scientific works and periodicals, both foreign and American, as may aid the officers in the discharge of their duties, not exceeding the amount annually appropriated for that purpose. [R. S.] Act of July 8, 1870, ch. 230, 16 Stat. L. 200. Sec. 487. [Patent agents may be refused recognition.] For gross misconduct the Commissioner of Patents may refuse to recognize any person as a patent-agent, either generally or in any particular case; but the reasons for such refusal shall be duly recorded, and be subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior. [R. S.] Act of July 8, 1870, ch. 230, 16 Stat. L. 200. When Secretary may review. The power of disbarment given by this section is conferred upon the commissioner of patents. It is only after he has made a decision that his opinion is submitted to review by the Secretary of the Interior. Attorney-General- Commissioner of Patents, (1893) 20 Op. Atty.-Gen. 608. Sec. 488. [Printing of papers filed.] The Commissioner of Patents may require all papers filed in the Patent-Office, if not correctly, legibly, and clearly written, to be printed at the cost of the party filing them. [R. S.] Act of July 8, 1870, ch. 230, 16 Stat. L. 200. Sec. 489. [Printing copies of claims, laws, decisions, etc.] The Commissioner of Patents may print, or cause to be printed, copies of the claims of current issues, and copies of such laws, decisions, regulations, and circulars as may be necessary for the information of the public. [R. S.] Act of July 8, 1870, ch. 230, 16 Stat. L. 200. For more general provisions relating to the printing and distribution of documents of the patent office, see PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. Sec. 490. [Printing specifications and drawings.] The Commissioner of Patents is authorized to have printed, from time to time, for gratuitous distribution, not to exceed one hundred and fifty copies of the complete. |