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2920.01 Inventorship

MPEP SECTION SUMMARY This section covers the inventorship of an international design application.  The inventorship of an international design application designating the United States is the creator or creators set forth in the publication of the international registration under Hague Agreement. This section focuses on how to correct inventorship with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.48(a), (b), and (f).

Inventorship may be corrected in accordance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.48(a).

• Note that a request to correct the inventorship filed under 37 CFR 1.48(a) should identify the inventorship change and must be accompanied by a signed application data sheet (ADS) including the legal name, residence, and mailing address of the inventor or each actual joint inventor and the processing fee.
• The application data sheet submitted with a request under 37 CFR 1.48(a) must identify the information being changed with underlining for insertions and strike-through or brackets for text removed.
• In addition, in accordance with 37 CFR 1.48(c), a request to correct or change the inventorship under 37 CFR 1.48(a) filed after the Office action on the merits has been given or mailed in the application must also be accompanied by the fee.

37 CFR 1.48(b) provides that an oath or declaration or a substitute statement will be required for any actual inventor who has not yet executed such an oath or declaration.

• Accordingly, where an inventor is added pursuant to 37 CFR 1.48(a) after publication of the international registration, an executed oath or declaration from the inventor will be required.

The name of an inventor may be corrected or updated and the order of the names of the joint inventors may be adjusted in accordance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.48(f).

37 CFR 1.48(f) specifically provides that any request to correct or update the name of the inventor or a joint inventor, or the order of the names of joint inventors, in a nonprovisional application must include:

• (1) an application data sheet that identifies each inventor by his or her legal name in the desired order (identifying the information that is being changed); and
• (2) the processing fee.
• (3) In addition to the corrected application data sheet, the request should also identify the desired inventor name change.

 

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