706.02(g) Rejections Under Pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(f) [R-08.2012]
[Editor Note: This MPEP section is not applicable to applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in 35 U.S.C. 100 (note) and MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 706.03(a), subsection IV, for rejections based on improper naming of the inventor in applications subject to the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA.]
Pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(f) bars the issuance of a patent where an applicant did not invent the subject matter being claimed and sought to be patented. See also 35 U.S.C. 101, which requires that whoever invents or discovers is the party who may obtain a patent for the particular invention or discovery. The examiner must presume the applicants are the proper inventors unless there is proof that another made the invention and that applicant derived the invention from the true inventor.
See MPEP §§ 2137 - 2137.02 for more information on the substantive requirements of rejections under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(f).