The patent laws of the United States make no discrimination with respect
to the citizenship of the inventor. Any inventor, regardless of his/her
citizenship, may apply for a patent on the same basis as a U.S. citizen.
There are, however, a number of particular points of special interest to
applicants located in foreign countries.
The application for patent in the United States must be made by the
inventor and the inventor must sign the oath or declaration (with
certain exceptions), differing from the law in many countries where the
signature of the inventor and an oath of inventorship are not necessary.
If the inventor is dead, the application may be made by his/her executor
or administrator, or equivalent, and in the case of mental disability it
may be made by his/her legal representative (guardian).
No United States patent can be obtained if the invention was patented
abroad before applying in the United States by the inventor or his/her
legal representatives or assigns on an application filed more than 12
months before filing in the United States. Six months are allowed in the
case of a design patent.
An application for a patent filed in the United States by any person who
has previously regularly filed an application for a patent for the same
invention in a foreign country which affords similar privileges to
citizens of the United States shall have the same force and effect for
the purpose of overcoming intervening acts of others as if filed in the
United States on the date on which the application for a patent for the
same invention was first filed in such foreign country. This is the
case, provided the application in the United States is filed within 12
months (six months in the case of a design patent) from the earliest
date on which any such foreign application was filed. A copy of the
foreign application certified by the patent office of the country in
which it was filed is required to secure this right of priority.
If any application for patent has been filed in any foreign country by
the applicant or by his/her legal representatives or assigns prior to
his/her application in the United States, the applicant must, in the
oath or declaration accompanying the application, state the country in
which the earliest such application has been filed, giving the date of
filing the application. All applications filed more than a year before
the filing in the United States must also be recited in the oath or
declaration.
An oath or declaration must be made with respect to every application.
When the applicant is in a foreign country the oath or affirmation may
be before any diplomatic or consular officer of the United States, or
before any officer having an official seal and authorized to administer
oaths in the foreign country, whose authority shall be proved by a
certificate of a diplomatic or consular officer of the United States.
The oath is attested in all cases by the proper official seal of the
officer before whom the oath is made.
When the oath is taken before an officer in the country foreign to the
United States, all the application papers (except the drawing) must be
attached together and a ribbon passed one or more times through all the
sheets of the application, and the ends of the ribbons brought together
under the seal before the latter is affixed and impressed, or each sheet
must be impressed with the official seal of the officer before whom the
oath was taken.
If the application is filed by the legal representative (executor,
administrator, etc.) of a deceased inventor, the legal representative
must make the oath or declaration.
When a declaration is used, the ribboning procedure is not necessary,
nor is it necessary to appear before an official in connection with the
making of a declaration.
A foreign applicant may be represented by any patent attorney or agent
who is registered to practice before the United States Patent and
Trademark Office.