37 CFR § 5.15 — Scope of license. (MPEP Coverage Index) – BlueIron IP
37 CFR § 5.15 Scope of license.
Source: Patent Rule (37 CFR)BlueIron Update:
This page consolidates MPEP guidance interpreting 37 CFR § 5.15, including 25 rules from the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure. It is provided as guidance, with links to the ground truth sources. This is information only, it is not legal advice.
Summary
37 CFR 5.15 defines the scope of licensing for foreign patent applications that do not require mandatory defense agency inspection under 35 U.S.C. 181.
What this section covers
- Eligibility criteria for foreign patent applications reviewed under specific patent filing regulations.
- Administrative process for applications not mandating defense agency review.
Key obligations
- Compliance with patent application filing regulations for foreign applications.
- Verification of applications against review criteria in §§ 5.12 through 5.14.
Practice notes
- Thoroughly document the review process for foreign patent applications to demonstrate regulatory compliance.
- Carefully understand nuanced requirements for applications not requiring defense agency inspection.
Official MPEP § 5.15 — Scope of license.
Source: USPTOLast Modified: 10/30/2024 08:50:22
5.15 Scope of license.
- (a) Applications or other materials reviewed pursuant to
§§
5.12
through
5.14
, which were not required to be made
available for inspection by defense agencies under
35 U.S.C.
181
, will be eligible for a license of the scope
provided in this paragraph (a). This license permits subsequent
modifications, amendments, and supplements containing additional
subject matter to, or divisions of, a foreign application, if such
changes to the application do not alter the general nature of the
invention in a manner that would require the United States application
to have been made available for inspection under
35 U.S.C.
181
. Grant of this license authorizes the export
of technical data pursuant to §
5.11(b)
and the
filing of an application in a foreign country or with any foreign or
international intellectual property authority when the technical data
and the subject matter of the foreign application correspond to that
of the application or other materials reviewed pursuant to §§
5.12
through
5.14
, upon which the license was granted. This
license includes the authority:
- (1) To export and file all duplicate and formal application papers in foreign countries or with foreign or international intellectual property authorities;
- (2) To make amendments, modifications, and supplements, including divisions, changes or supporting matter consisting of the illustration, exemplification, comparison, or explanation of subject matter disclosed in the application; and
- (3) To take any action in the prosecution of the
foreign application provided that the adding of subject matter
or taking of any action under paragraph (a)(1) or (2) of this
section does not change the general nature of the invention
disclosed in the application in a manner that would require such
application to have been made available for inspection under
35 U.S.C.
181
by including technical data pertaining
to:
- (i) Defense services or articles designated in the United States Munitions List applicable at the time of foreign filing, the unlicensed exportation of which is prohibited pursuant to the Arms Export Control Act, as amended, and 22 CFR parts 120 through 130; or
- (ii) Restricted Data, sensitive nuclear technology or technology useful in the production or utilization of special nuclear material or atomic energy, dissemination of which is subject to restrictions of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Act of 1978, as implemented by the regulations for Assistance to Foreign Atomic Energy Activities, 10 CFR part 810, in effect at the time of foreign filing.
- (b) Applications or other materials that were required to be made available for inspection under 35 U.S.C. 181 will be eligible for a license of the scope provided in this paragraph (b). Grant of this license authorizes the export of technical data pursuant to § 5.11(b) and the filing of an application in a foreign country or with any foreign or international intellectual property authority. Further, this license includes the authority to export and file all duplicate and formal papers in foreign countries or with foreign or international intellectual property authorities and to make amendments, modifications, and supplements to; file divisions of; and take any action in the prosecution of the foreign application, provided subject matter additional to that covered by the license is not involved.
- (c) A license granted under § 5.12(b) pursuant to § 5.13 or § 5.14 shall have the scope indicated in paragraph (a) of this section, if it is so specified in the license. A petition, accompanied by the required fee (§ 1.17(g) of this chapter), may also be filed to change a license having the scope indicated in paragraph (b) of this section to a license having the scope indicated in paragraph (a) of this section. No such petition will be granted if the copy of the material filed pursuant to § 5.13 or any corresponding United States application was required to be made available for inspection under 35 U.S.C. 181 . The change in the scope of a license will be effective as of the date of the grant of the petition.
- (d) In those cases in which no license is required to file or export the foreign application, no license is required to file papers in connection with the prosecution of the foreign application not involving the disclosure of additional subject matter.
- (e) Any paper filed abroad or transmitted to a foreign or international intellectual property authority following the filing of a foreign application that changes the general nature of the subject matter disclosed at the time of filing in a manner that would require such application to have been made available for inspection under 35 U.S.C. 181 or that involves the disclosure of subject matter listed in paragraph (a)(3)(i) or (ii) of this section must be separately licensed in the same manner as a foreign application. Further, if no license has been granted under § 5.12(a) after filing the corresponding United States application, any paper filed abroad or with a foreign or international intellectual property authority that involves the disclosure of additional subject matter must be licensed in the same manner as a foreign application.
- (f) Licenses separately granted in connection with two or
more United States applications may be exercised by combining or
dividing the disclosures, as desired, provided:
- (1) Subject matter which changes the general nature of the subject matter disclosed at the time of filing or which involves subject matter listed in paragraphs (a)(3) (i) or (ii) of this section is not introduced and,
- (2) In the case where at least one of the licenses was obtained under § 5.12(b) , additional subject matter is not introduced.
- (g) A license does not apply to acts done before the license was granted. See § 5.25 for petitions for retroactive licenses.
[49 FR 13462, Apr. 4, 1984; paras. (a) – (c), (e) and (f), 56 FR 1924, Jan. 18, 1991, effective Feb. 19, 1991; paras. (a)-(c) and (e) revised, 62 FR 53132, Oct. 10, 1997, effective Dec. 1, 1997; para. (c) revised, 69 FR 56481, Sept. 21, 2004, effective Nov. 22, 2004; para. (a) introductory text and paras. (a)(3), (b), (d), and (e) revised, 80 FR 17918, Apr. 2, 2015, effective May 13, 2015; para. (a) introductory text and paras. (a)(1), (b) and (e) revised, 85 FR 61604, Sept. 30, 2020, effective Sept. 30, 2020]
- Fees
- Foreign Filing License
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