602.05 Oath or Declaration in Continuing Applications [R-11.2013]
A copy of an oath or declaration from a prior application may be submitted with a continuation or divisional application, or with a continuation-in-part application filed on or after September 16, 2012, even if the oath or declaration identifies the application number of the prior application. However, if such a copy of the oath or declaration is filed after the filing date of the continuation or divisional application and an application number has been assigned to the continuation or divisional application (see 37 CFR 1.5(a) ), the cover letter accompanying the oath or declaration should identify the application number of the continuation or divisional application. The cover letter should also indicate that the oath or declaration submitted is a copy of the oath or declaration from a prior application to avoid the oath or declaration being incorrectly matched with the prior application file. Furthermore, applicant should also label the copy of the oath or declaration with the application number of the continuation or divisional application in the event that the cover letter is separated from the copy of the oath or declaration.
A copy of the oath or declaration from a prior nonprovisional application may be filed in a continuation or divisional application even if the specification for the continuation or divisional application is different from that of the prior application, in that revisions have been made to clarify the text to incorporate amendments made in the prior application, or to make other changes provided the changes do not constitute new matter relative to the prior application. If the examiner determines that the continuation or divisional application contains new matter relative to the prior application, the examiner should so notify the applicant in the next Office action and indicate that the application should be redesignated as a continuation-in-part.
See MPEP § 602.05(a) for information regarding an oath or declaration in a continuing application filed on or after September 16, 2012. See MPEP § 602.05(b) for information regarding an oath or declaration in a continuing application filed before September 16, 2012.
602.05(a) Oath or Declaration in Continuing Applications Filed On or After September 16, 2012 [R-07.2015]
[Editor Note: See MPEP § 602.05(b) for information regarding oath or declaration in a continuing application filed before September 16, 2012.]
For applications filed on or after September 16, 2012, a continuing application, including a continuation-in-part application, may be filed with a copy of an oath or declaration or substitute statement from the prior nonprovisional application, provided that the oath or declaration is in compliance with 37 CFR 1.63 or the substitute statement is in compliance with 37 CFR 1.64. See 37 CFR 1.63(d)(1). It should be noted that a copy of the inventor’s oath or declaration submitted in a continuing application filed on or after September 16, 2012 must comply with requirements of 35 U.S.C. 115 and 37 CFR 1.63 or 1.64 in effect for applications filed on or after September 16, 2012. For example, the inventor’s oath or declaration must include a statement that the application was made or was authorized to be made by the person executing the oath or declaration. Accordingly, a new inventor’s oath or declaration may need to be filed in a continuing application filed on or after September 16, 2012, where the prior application was filed before September 16, 2012, in order to meet the requirements of 35 U.S.C. 115 and 37 CFR 1.63 (or 1.64 ) in effect for applications filed on or after September 16, 2012.
For continuing applications filed on or after September 16, 2012 under 37 CFR 1.53(b), the inventorship is the inventor or joint inventors specified in the application data sheet filed before or concurrently with the copy of the inventor’s oath or declaration from the earlier-filed application. If an application data sheet is not filed before or concurrently with the copy of the inventor’s oath or declaration from the earlier-filed application, the inventorship is the inventorship set forth in the copy of the inventor’s oath or declaration from the earlier-filed application, unless it is accompanied by a signed statement pursuant to 37 CFR 1.33(b) that states the name of each inventor in the continuing application. See 37 CFR 1.63(d)(2). Any new joint inventor named in the continuing application must provide an oath or declaration in compliance with 37 CFR 1.63, except as provided in 37 CFR 1.64. See 37 CFR 1.63(d)(3).
602.05(b) Oath or Declaration in Continuing Applications Filed Before September 16, 2012 [R-07.2015]
[Editor Note: See MPEP § 602.05(a) for information regarding oath or declaration in a continuing application filed on or after September 16, 2012.]
A continuation or divisional application filed before September 16, 2012 under 37 CFR 1.53(b) (other than a continuation-in-part (CIP)) may be filed with a copy of the oath or declaration from the prior nonprovisional application. See pre-AIA 37 CFR 1.63(d)(1)(iv).
A continuation or divisional application of a prior application accorded status under pre-AIA 37 CFR 1.47 will be accorded status under pre-AIA 37 CFR 1.47 if a copy of the decision according pre-AIA 37 CFR 1.47 status in the prior application is filed in the continuation or divisional application, unless an oath or declaration signed by all of the inventors is included upon filing the continuation or divisional application. An oath or declaration in an application accorded status under pre-AIA 37 CFR 1.47 is generally not signed by all of the inventors. Accordingly, if a copy of an oath or declaration of a prior application is submitted in a continuation or divisional application filed under 37 CFR 1.53(b) and the copy of the oath or declaration omits the signature of one or more inventors, the Office of Patent Application Processing (OPAP) should send a "Notice to File Missing Parts" requiring the signature of the nonsigning inventor, unless a copy of the decision according status under pre-AIA 37 CFR 1.47 is also included at the time of filing of the continuation or divisional application. If OPAP mails such a Notice, a copy of the decision according status under pre-AIA 37 CFR 1.47, together with a surcharge under 37 CFR 1.16(f) for its late filing, will be an acceptable reply to the Notice. Alternatively, applicant may submit an oath or declaration signed by the previously nonsigning inventor together with the surcharge set forth in 37 CFR 1.16(f) in reply to the Notice.
If an inventor named in a prior application is not an inventor in a continuation or divisional application filed under 37 CFR 1.53(b), the continuation or divisional application may either be filed (A) with a copy of an oath or declaration from a prior application and a statement requesting the deletion of the name or names of the person or persons who are not inventors of the invention being claimed in the continuation or divisional application (see pre-AIA 37 CFR 1.63(d) ), or (B) with a newly executed oath or declaration naming the correct inventive entity. If an inventor named in a prior application is not an inventor in a continuation or divisional application filed under 37 CFR 1.53(d) (continued prosecution design application), the request for filing the continuation or divisional application must be accompanied by a statement requesting the deletion of the name or names of the person or persons who are not inventors of the invention being claimed in the continuation or divisional application (see 37 CFR 1.53(d)(4) ).
A continuation or divisional application filed under 37 CFR 1.53(b) of a prior application in which a petition (or request) under 37 CFR 1.48 to add an inventor was filed should be filed with a copy of the executed declaration naming the correct inventive entity from the prior application or a newly executed declaration naming the correct inventive entity. A copy of any decision under 37 CFR 1.48 from the prior application is not required to be filed in the continuation or divisional application. See MPEP § 602.01(c)(3) in Revision 08.2017 of the Ninth Edition of the MPEP, published in January 2018, for the language of pre-AIA 37 CFR 1.48.