Late submission of Declaration

Many times a declaration cannot be executed prior to filing an application. If a substitute statement is not filed, a late submission of the declaration along with the appropriate fee must be submitted.

A declaration filed along with filing a domestic application will usually only refer to the attached application and title.

In comparison, a late filed declaration will usually include the application number and filing date.

MPEP 608.02(2) provides that:

Filing dates are granted on applications filed without an inventor’s oath or declaration in compliance with 37 CFR 1.63. The following combinations of information supplied in an oath or declaration filed after the filing date of the application are acceptable as minimums for identifying the application and compliance with any one of the items below will be accepted as complying with the identification requirement of 37 CFR 1.63:

(A) application number (consisting of the series code and the serial number, e.g., 08/123,456);
(B) serial number and filing date;
(C) international application number of an international application;
(D) international registration number of an international design application;
(E) attorney docket number which was on the specification as filed;
(F) title of the invention which was on the specification as filed and reference to an attached specification or application which is both attached to the oath or declaration at the time of execution and submitted with the oath or declaration; or
(G) title of the invention which was on the specification as filed and accompanied by a cover letter accurately identifying the application for which it was intended by either the application number (consisting of the series code and the serial number, e.g., 08/123,456), or serial number and filing date. Absent any statement(s) to the contrary, it will be presumed that the application filed in the USPTO is the application which the inventor(s) executed by signing the oath or declaration.