PUBLIC LAW 94-131—NOV. 14, 1975
- § 372. National stage: Requirements and procedure
" (a) All questions of substance and, within the scope of the requirements of the treaty and Regulations, procedure in an international application designating the United States shall be determined as in the case of national applications regularly filed in the Patent Office. "(b) In case of international applications designating but not originating in, the United States— "(1) the Commissioner may cause to be reexamined questions relating to form and contents of the application in accordance with the requirements of the treaty and the Regulations; "(2) the Commissioner may cause the question of unity of invention to be reexamined under section 121 of this title, within the scope of the requirements of the treaty and the Regulations. "(c) Any claim not searched in the international stage in view of a holding, found to be justified by the Commissioner upon review, that the international application did not comply with the requirement for unity of invention under the treaty and the Regulations, shall be considered canceled, unless payment of a special fee is made by the applicant. Such special fee shall be paid with respect to each claim not searched in the international stage and shall be submitted not later than one month after a notice was sent to the applicant informing him that the said holding was deemed to be justified. The payment of the special fee shall not prevent the Commissioner from requiring that the international application be restricted to one of the inventions claimed therein under section 121 of this title, and within the scope of the requirements of the treaty and the Regulations.
- § 373. Improper applicant
"An international application designating the United States, shall not be accepted by the Patent Office for the national stage if it was filed by anyone not qualified under chapter 11 of this title to be an applicant for the purpose of filing a national application in the United States. Such international applications shall not serve as the basis for the benefit of an earlier filing date under section 120 of this title in a subsequently filed application, but may serve as the basis for a claim of the right of priority under section 119 of this title, if the United States was not the sole country designated in such international application. "§ 374. Publication of international application: Effect "The publication under the treaty of an international application shall confer no rights and shall have no effect under this title other than that of a printed publication. "§375. Patent issued on international application: Effect "(a) A patent may be issued by the Commissioner based on an international application designating the United States, in accordance with the provisions of this title. Subject to section 102(e) of this title, such patent shall have the force and effect of a patent issued on a national application filed under the provisions of chapter 11 of this title. " (b) Where due to an incorrect translation the scope of a patent granted on an international application designating the United States, which was not originally filed in the English language, exceeds the scope of the international application in its original language, a court of competent jurisdiction may retroactively limit the scope of the patent, by declaring it unenforceable to the extent that it exceeds the scope of the international application in its original language.
89 STAT. 689 35 USC 372.
35 USC 121.
35 USC 373. 35 USC 111 et seq. Post, p. 692. 35 USC 119. 35 USC 374.
35 USC 375. Post, p. 691.
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