35 U.S.C. § 184 — Filing of application in foreign country (MPEP Coverage Index) – BlueIron IP
35 U.S.C. § 184 Filing of application in foreign country
This page consolidates MPEP guidance interpreting 35 U.S.C. § 184, including 26 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
This section outlines the requirements for submitting petitions for retroactive licenses under 35 U.S.C. 184, emphasizing the need to include detailed information on foreign countries and filing dates.
What this section covers
- Petitions for Foreign Filing Licenses under 35 U.S.C. 184 are required before filing any patent application abroad.
Key obligations
- Submit a petition for retroactive license in accordance with § 5.13 or § 5.14(a).
- Include a listing of each foreign country and the filing dates in the petition.
Practice notes
- Ensure all foreign countries and their respective filing dates are accurately listed.
- Double-check the accuracy and completeness of the filing dates provided in the petition.
Official MPEP § 184 — Filing of application in foreign country
Source: USPTOLast Modified: 10/30/2024 08:50:22
35 U.S.C. 184 Filing of application in foreign country.
[Editor Note: Applicable to proceedings commenced on or after Sept. 16, 2012. See 35 U.S.C. 184 (pre‑AIA) for the law otherwise applicable.]
- (a) FILING IN FOREIGN COUNTRY.—Except when authorized by a license obtained from the Commissioner of Patents a person shall not file or cause or authorize to be filed in any foreign country prior to six months after filing in the United States an application for patent or for the registration of a utility model, industrial design, or model in respect of an invention made in this country. A license shall not be granted with respect to an invention subject to an order issued by the Commissioner of Patents pursuant to section 181 without the concurrence of the head of the departments and the chief officers of the agencies who caused the order to be issued. The license may be granted retroactively where an application has been filed abroad through error and the application does not disclose an invention within the scope of section 181 .
- (b) APPLICATION.—The term “application” when used in this chapter includes applications and any modifications, amendments, or supplements thereto, or divisions thereof.
- (c) SUBSEQUENT MODIFICATIONS, AMENDMENTS, AND SUPPLEMENTS.—The scope of a license shall permit subsequent modifications, amendments, and supplements containing additional subject matter if the application upon which the request for the license is based is not, or was not, required to be made available for inspection under section 181 and if such modifications, amendments, and supplements do not change the general nature of the invention in a manner which would require such application to be made available for inspection under such section 181 . In any case in which a license is not, or was not, required in order to file an application in any foreign country, such subsequent modifications, amendments, and supplements may be made, without a license, to the application filed in the foreign country if the United States application was not required to be made available for inspection under section 181 and if such modifications, amendments, and supplements do not, or did not, change the general nature of the invention in a manner which would require the United States application to have been made available for inspection under such section 181 .
(Amended Aug. 23, 1988, Public Law 100-418, sec. 9101(b)(1), 102 Stat. 1567; Nov. 29, 1999, Public Law 106-113, sec. 1000(a)(9), 113 Stat. 1501A-582 (S. 1948 sec. 4732(a)(10)(B)); amended Sept. 16, 2011, Public Law 112-29, secs. 20(b) and (j) (effective Sept. 16, 2012), 125 Stat. 284)
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| MPEP Section | Rules |
|---|---|
| MPEP § 1002.02(c)(1) | |
| MPEP § 115 | |
| MPEP § 140 |