35 U.S.C. § 293
Section 293 · Nonresident patentee; service and notice
Amended 3 times on record
Applied in 55 court decisions — leading case Akro Corporation v. Luker (1995)
Most recently applied in Jekyll Island-State Park Authority v. Polygroup Macau Limited (June 2025)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Every patentee not residing in the United States may file in the Patent and Trademark Office a written designation stating the name and address of a person residing within the United States on whom may be served process or notice of proceedings affecting the patent or rights thereunder. If the person designated cannot be found at the address given in the last designation, or if no person has been designated, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia shall have jurisdiction and summons shall be served by publication or otherwise as the court directs. The court shall have the same jurisdiction to take any action respecting the patent or rights thereunder that it would have if the patentee were personally within the jurisdiction of the court.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Historical and Revision Notes
This section provides for service on non-resident patentees.
Amendments
2011—Pub. L. 112–29 substituted “United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia” for “United States District Court for the District of Columbia”.
1975—Pub. L. 93–596 substituted “Patent and Trademark Office” for “Patent Office”.
Effective Date of 2011 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 112–29 effective Sept. 16, 2011, and applicable to any civil action commenced on or after that date, see section 9(b) of Pub. L. 112–29, set out as a note under section 1071 of Title 15, Commerce and Trade.
Effective Date of 1975 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 93–596 effective Jan. 2, 1975, see section 4 of Pub. L. 93–596, set out as a note under section 1111 of Title 15, Commerce and Trade.