Inventors B and C are employed by Corporation D, which authorized registered practitioner E to prepare and file a patent application claiming subject matter invented by B and C. Inventor B signed the oath, an assignment to Corporation D, and a power of attorney authorizing practitioner E to prosecute the application. Inventor C refused to sign the oath and any assignment documents for the application. The employment contract between inventor C and Corporation D contains no language obligating C to assign any invention to Corporation D. A patent application was properly filed in the USPTO under 37 CFR 1.47 naming B and C as inventors, but without inventor C signing the oath. C has now started his own company competing with Corporation D producing a product with the invention in the application. Inventor B is a friend of inventor C and wants C to have continued access to the application. Which of the following statements is in accordance with the patent laws, rules and procedures as related in the MPEP?
Explanation
Answer: C - MPEP § 106 states “[t]he assignee of record of the entire interest in an application may intervene in the prosecution of the application, appointing an attorney or agent of his or her own choice. See 37 CFR § 3.71. Such intervention, however, does not exclude the applicant from access to the application to see that it is being prosecuted properly, unless the assignee makes specific request to that effect.” (A), (B), (D), and (E) are incorrect. MPEP § 409.03(i) is directly contrary to answer (A), and provides that a nonsigning inventor cannot revoke or give a power of attorney without agreement of all named inventors or the 37 CFR § 1.47(b) applicant. (B) is incorrect. MPEP § 106 does not empower an inventor who has assigned his or her rights to exclude a non-signing joint inventor from accessing an application in which the latter party is named as a joint inventor. (E) is incorrect. MPEP § 106. Corporation D, as an assignee of a part interest, cannot exclude the non-signing joint inventor from access to the application. See also, MPEP § 106.01, which states “While it is only the assignee of record of the entire interest who can intervene in the prosecution of an application or interference to the exclusion of the applicant, an assignee of a part interest or a licensee of exclusive right is entitled to inspect the application.” (D) is incorrect because MPEP § 409.03(i) states that a nonsigning inventor is entitled to inspect any papers in the application, and order copies at the price set forth in 37 C FR § 1.19.
