35 U.S.C. § 153
Section 153 · How issued
Amended 4 times on record
Applied in 4 court decisions — leading case Exxon Chemical Patents, Inc. v. Lubrizol Corp. (1991)
Most recently applied in In RE:TAM en Banc (December 2015)
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.
Patents shall be issued in the name of the United States of America, under the seal of the Patent and Trademark Office, and shall be signed by the Director or have his signature placed thereon and shall be recorded in the Patent and Trademark Office.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on Title 35, U.S.C., 1946 ed., §39 (R.S. 4883, amended (1) Feb. 18, 1888, ch. 15, 25 Stat. 40, (2) April 11, 1903, ch. 417, 32 Stat. 95, (3) Feb. 18, 1922, ch. 58, §5, 42 Stat. 391).
The phrases referring to the attesting officers and to the recording of the patents are broadened.
Amendments
2002—Pub. L. 107–273, §13206(b)(1)(B), made technical correction to directory language of Pub. L. 106–113. See 1999 Amendment note below.
Pub. L. 107–273, §13203(c), struck out “and attested by an officer of the Patent and Trademark Office designated by the Director,” after “signature placed thereon”.
1999—Pub. L. 106–113, as amended by Pub. L. 107–273, §13206(b)(1)(B), substituted “Director” for “Commissioner” in two places.
1975—Pub. L. 93–596 substituted “Patent and Trademark Office” for “Patent Office” wherever appearing.
Effective Date of 1999 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 106–113 effective 4 months after Nov. 29, 1999, see section 1000(a)(9) [title IV, §4731] of Pub. L. 106–113, set out as a note under section 1 of this title.
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.