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Question:
Who must a disclaimer be signed by in a patent or a reexamination proceeding?
Answer:
A disclaimer filed in a patent or a reexamination proceeding must be signed by either:
- the patentee (the assignee, the inventor(s) if the patent is not assigned, or the assignee and the inventors if the patent is assigned-in-part), or
- an attorney or agent of record.
Chapter Details:
The answer to this question can be found in chapter 1400 of the MPEP. This chapter covers Correction of Patents.
The answer is from the 9th Edition, Revision 07.2015. Depending on future changes to the MPEP, the question and answer may or may not be applicable in later Editions or revisions.
Section Summary:
This question and answer comes from section 1490 of the MPEP. The following is a brief summary of section 1490.
1490 Disclaimers
This section covers disclaimers. A disclaimer is a statement filed by an owner (in part or in entirety) of a patent or of a patent to be granted (i.e., an application), in which said owner relinquishes certain legal rights to the patent. There are two types of disclaimers: a statutory disclaimer and a terminal disclaimer. This section provides coverage of both types of disclaimers as well as signing and supporting a disclaimer, processing in a Certificate of correction branch, withdrawing a recorded terminal disclaimer and other matters directed to terminal disclaimers.