Patent Law FAQ

A substitute statement is a document that can be used in place of an oath or declaration in patent applications involving deceased or legally incapacitated inventors. According to MPEP 409.01(a):

See 37 CFR 1.64 and MPEP § 604 concerning the execution of a substitute statement by a legal representative in lieu of an oath or declaration.

The substitute statement can be executed by:

• A legal representative of the deceased or incapacitated inventor
• An assignee or obligated assignee
• A party with sufficient proprietary interest in the invention

This allows the application process to continue even when the inventor is unable to provide an oath or declaration due to death or incapacity. The substitute statement must comply with the requirements set forth in 37 CFR 1.64.

To learn more:

• substitute statement
• deceased inventor
• incapacitated inventor
• patent application
• oath
• declaration