Patent Act of 1952
The Patent Act of 1952 clarified and simplified existing U.S. patent law. It also effected substantive changes, including the codification of the requirement for non-obviousness[1][2] and the judicial doctrine of contributory infringement.[3] As amended, it is codified in Title 35 of the United States Code. ProvisionsThe Act originally divided the patent law into three parts:
A later amendment added
Other amendments to Title 35 concern the renaming from "Patent Office" to "Patent and Trademark Office"; revised fee schedules for application and issue of patents; and modifications in procedures related to the protection of patents. § 121 of the Patent Act of 1952 was the first time, when the US Congress addressed the problem of double patenting. Prior to 1952, even when a patent examiner required splitting a patent application into several divisionals, the resulting divisionals were used against each other in courts as grounds for double patenting invalidation. This was an unfair practice to patent owners, who were faced with a loss-loss situation. The Congress did away with the problem, adding § 121, which provides that, when an inventor files a divisional application in response to a restriction requirement, one restricted application “shall not be used as a reference” against the other.[4] References |