35 U.S.C. § 363
Section 363 · International application designating the United States: Effect
Amended 3 times on record
Applied in 6 court decisions — leading case Stevens v. Tamai (2004)
Most recently applied in Seed Co. v. Westerman ex rel. Estate of Westerman (August 2016)
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.
An international application designating the United States shall have the effect, from its international filing date under article 11 of the treaty, of a national application for patent regularly filed in the Patent and Trademark Office.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Amendments
2011—Pub. L. 112–29, §20(j), struck out “of this title” after “102(e)”.
Pub. L. 112–29, §3(g)(3), which directed the striking out of “except as otherwise provided in section 102(e) of this title”, was executed by striking out “except as otherwise provided in section 102(e)” before period at end, to reflect the probable intent of Congress, because the words “of this title” did not appear subsequent to amendment by Pub. L. 112–29, §20(j). See note above and Effective Date of 2011 Amendment notes below.
1984—Pub. L. 98–622 substituted “Patent and Trademark Office” for “Patent Office”.
Effective Date of 2011 Amendment
Amendment by section 3(g)(3) of Pub. L. 112–29 effective upon the expiration of the 18-month period beginning on Sept. 16, 2011, and applicable to certain applications for patent and any patents issuing thereon, see section 3(n) of Pub. L. 112–29, set out as an Effective Date of 2011 Amendment; Savings Provisions note under section 100 of this title.
Amendment by section 20(j) of Pub. L. 112–29 effective upon the expiration of the 1-year period beginning on Sept. 16, 2011, and applicable to proceedings commenced on or after that effective date, see section 20(l) of Pub. L. 112–29, set out as a note under section 2 of this title.
Effective Date of 1984 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 98–622 effective Nov. 8, 1984, see section 406(a) of Pub. L. 98–622, set out as a note under section 351 of this title.