What requirements must be met to claim priority based on an inventor’s certificate?

To claim priority based on an inventor’s certificate, applicants must meet specific requirements outlined in 37 CFR 1.55(l):

To claim the right of priority on the basis of an application for an inventor’s certificate in such a country under 35 U.S.C. 119(d), the applicant when submitting a claim for such right as specified in this section, must include an affidavit or declaration.

The affidavit or declaration must state that:

• The applicant had the option to file for either a patent or an inventor’s certificate in the foreign country
• This option existed for the particular subject matter of the invention

It’s important to note that the affidavit is only required to ascertain the general existence of this option in the foreign country, not to probe into the eligibility of the particular applicant.

To learn more:

• inventor’s certificate
• patent priority
• foreign priority
• affidavit requirements