§ 251. — Reissue of defective patents.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 35USC251]
TITLE 35--PATENTS
PART III--PATENTS AND PROTECTION OF PATENT RIGHTS
CHAPTER 25--AMENDMENT AND CORRECTION OF PATENTS
Sec. 251. Reissue of defective patents
Whenever any patent is, through error without any deceptive
intention, deemed wholly or partly inoperative or invalid, by reason of
a defective specification or drawing, or by reason of the patentee
claiming more or less than he had a right to claim in the patent, the
Director shall, on the surrender of such patent and the payment of the
fee required by law, reissue the patent for the invention disclosed in
the original patent, and in accordance with a new and amended
application, for the unexpired part of the term of the original patent.
No new matter shall be introduced into the application for reissue.
The Director may issue several reissued patents for distinct and
separate parts of the thing patented, upon demand of the applicant, and
upon payment of the required fee for a reissue for each of such reissued
patents.
The provisions of this title relating to applications for patent
shall be applicable to applications for reissue of a patent, except that
application for reissue may be made and sworn to by the assignee of the
entire interest if the application does not seek to enlarge the scope of
the claims of the original patent.
No reissued patent shall be granted enlarging the scope of the
claims of the original patent unless applied for within two years from
the grant of the original patent.
(July 19, 1952, ch. 950, 66 Stat. 808; Pub. L. 106-113, div. B,
Sec. 1000(a)(9) [title IV, Sec. 4732(a)(10)(A)], Nov. 29, 1999, 113
Stat. 1536, 1501A-582; Pub. L. 107-273, div. C, title III,
Sec. 13206(b)(1)(B), Nov. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 1906.)
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on Title 35, U.S.C., 1946 ed., Sec. 64 (R.S. 4916, amended May
24, 1928, ch. 730, 45 Stat. 732.)
The sentences of the corresponding section of existing statute are
rearranged and divided into two sections with some changes in language.
The clause at the end of the present statute is omitted as obsolete.
The third paragraph incorporates by reference the requirements of
other applications, and adds a new provision relating to application for
reissue being made in certain cases by the assignee.
A two year period of limitation on applying for broadened reissues
is added, codifying the present rule of decision with a fixed period.
Amendments
2002--Pub. L. 107-273 made technical correction to directory
language of Pub. L. 106-113. See 1999 Amendment note below.
1999--Pub. L. 106-113, as amended by Pub. L. 107-273, substituted
``Director'' for ``Commissioner'' in first and second pars.
Effective Date of 1999 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 106-113 effective 4 months after Nov. 29, 1999,
see section 1000(a)(9) [title IV, Sec. 4731] of Pub. L. 106-113, set out
as a note under section 1 of this title.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in section 282 of this title.
