What are the consequences of not submitting an inventor’s oath or declaration before the issue fee is paid?

Failing to submit an inventor’s oath or declaration before the issue fee is paid can have serious consequences for a patent application. According to MPEP 602.01(a):

If an application does not include an oath or declaration by the inventor or a substitute statement, the Office will issue a notice requiring the applicant to file the inventor’s oath or declaration no later than the date on which the issue fee is paid.

The consequences of not complying with this requirement include:

• Application Abandonment: If the oath or declaration is not submitted by the time the issue fee is paid, the application will be regarded as abandoned.
• Additional Fees: To revive an abandoned application, the applicant must pay additional fees and file a petition for revival.
• Delay in Patent Grant: The patent will not be granted until the proper oath or declaration is submitted and the application is revived.
• Potential Loss of Patent Rights: In extreme cases, failure to timely submit the oath or declaration could result in a loss of patent rights if statutory deadlines are missed.

To avoid these issues, applicants should ensure that a proper inventor’s oath or declaration is submitted well before the issue fee payment deadline.

To learn more:

• inventor’s oath
• declaration
• issue fee
• application abandonment
• patent rights