SATURDAY - WALNUT CANYON
9:47 AM - 68 HOURS UNTIL ABANDONMENT
Athelia stood at the entrance to Walnut Canyon with a backpack full of equipment, a rejected USPTO application, and seventy-two hours until the parent application abandoned forever.
Sixty-eight now. She'd burned four hours sleeping.
She'd told Casey she was "doing field research for her thesis." Which was true. Technically. She just hadn't mentioned that her thesis had already been rejected by human USPTO for lack of jurisdiction, or that she was about to file a continuation-in-part with a Patent Office that might kill her if she wasn't genetically entitled.
Twenty-three others had tried. None survived.
Her backpack contained:
- Her rejected USPTO application (stamped LACK OF JURISDICTION in red) - Three notebooks with CIP specifications - GPS unit (primary) - Phone with GPS app (backup) - Mechanical compass (non-digital) - EMF reader (borrowed from paranormal investigation club) - High-resolution camera - Pens (multiple, because she always lost pens) - Water, granola bars, first aid kit
She looked like a very prepared hiker about to commit either the greatest academic discovery of the century or spectacular suicide.
The coordinates from her research pointed to chambers that weren't on any Park Service documentation. Hidden dwellings in a restricted section. Where the First Woman had filed her application millennia ago. Where it was still pending. Where twenty-three people had died trying to continue it.
"Okay," she whispered to herself. "Either I'm the inventor and the barrier accepts me, or I end up like the twenty-three before me."
She checked her GPS. Marked the trailhead as a waypoint. Started walking.
The forest was quiet. Too quiet, her brain whispered. But she pushed the thought aside. Confirmation bias. She expected something weird, so she was seeing something weird.
Scientific objectivity. That was the key.
She pulled out her first notebook. Started writing:
She walked. Documented. Measured.
At half a mile: GPS still functional. Compass reading normal. EMF baseline.
At one mile: GPS occasionally glitching. Compass steady. EMF slightly elevated (could be natural mineral deposits).
At 1.5 miles: GPS losing signal intermittently. Compass starting to drift. EMF reading climbing.
Athelia's heart raced. This is it. This is actually happening.
She forced herself to stay calm. To document.
She kept walking.
And then—
She felt it.
Pressure. Like the air had weight. Like walking through invisible water.
Her ears popped.
The hair on her arms stood up.
And ahead—maybe thirty yards—the air shimmered.
"Oh my god," she whispered.
10:31 AM - THE BARRIER
It looked like heat waves. Like the distortion above hot pavement on a summer day.
Except it was 54°F. And the distortion was vertical. A wall of shimmering air stretching as far as she could see in both directions.
Athelia approached slowly. Camera out. Taking photos from multiple angles.
The EMF reader screamed. 12.7 milligauss. 15.3. 18.9.
She stopped ten feet away. Set down her backpack. Pulled out her primary notebook.
Her hands shook as she wrote:
She looked up from her notebook.
Stared at the shimmering wall.
Her entire academic career. Her entire life. Had been leading to this moment.
Proof.
Real, documented, photographed proof that mythology was history.
"I was right," she whispered. "I was right."
She took more photos. Measured the distance. Documented the EMF readings at different proximities.
At five feet: 24.3 mG.
At three feet: 31.7 mG.
At one foot—
The EMF reader's display went blank. Then showed ERROR.
Athelia wrote: Equipment failure at <1 foot. Energy levels exceed measurement capacity.
She stood one foot from the barrier. Close enough to see the shimmer in detail. Close enough to feel the power radiating from it.
Close enough to touch.
But then something caught her eye. Movement to her left. No—not movement. A glint. Sunlight hitting carved stone.
Athelia turned.
The cliff dwellings.
She'd been so focused on the barrier she'd almost missed them. Ancient structures carved directly into the canyon wall, exactly like the Ancestral Puebloan chambers she'd researched. Upper chambers. Lower chambers. Stone rooms that shouldn't exist this far from the documented sites.
But these weren't empty ruins.
The stone walls were covered in carvings. Fresh carvings. Like someone had been maintaining them for centuries.
Athelia approached slowly, camera forgotten, drawn by recognition that felt like memory.
The structure was massive. Three upper chambers. Each carved with different symbols. Each radiating different energy.
THE THREE UPPER CHAMBERS
(Patent Types)
The left chamber was carved with symbols of innovation. Gears interlocking. Processes flowing. Compositions transforming.
The center chamber showed ornamental beauty. Curves and angles. Aesthetics carved in perfect proportion.
The right chamber pulsed with living energy. Roots and branches. Growth and propagation.
Athelia stared at the three chambers, notebook trembling in her hands.
She pulled out her notebook, hand shaking:
Athelia looked at the three chambers. The three choices.
Her feet moved before her conscious mind decided.
Toward the left chamber. The utility chamber. The wolf symbol carved in ancient stone.
Every scientific instinct screamed: Stop. Document. Analyze before choosing.
But something deeper—in her blood, in her bones—whispered: You know which one. UTILITY. Function. Purpose. Genetic composition. This is why you came.
She stepped through the threshold into the utility chamber.
INSIDE THE UTILITY CHAMBER
(Three Lower Paths - Application Types)
The chamber opened into a lower level. Three descending paths carved into the stone floor. Three doorways. Three more choices.
Athelia's breath caught. More choices. The patent type was just the beginning.
The first path showed a half-formed circle. Incomplete. Open on one side.
The second path showed a complete circle with three sets of eyes carved inside it. Emerald. Silver. Black.
The third path showed two circles linked together. One faded and ancient, one bright and new.
Athelia stared at the three paths. Provisional. Non-provisional. Continuation. Twenty-three tried and failed. But Path Three feels... wrong. Like I've never done this before. Path Two. It has to be Path Two.
She pulled out her notebook:
Athelia looked at the three paths. Her hand lifted. Unconscious. Drawn.
Every scientific instinct screamed: Don't. Unknown phenomenon. No safety protocols. No backup. Don't choose.
But another part of her—deeper, older, something in her blood—whispered: You know which one. This isn't your first time here... but it IS your first FILING. Path Two. Full examination. No delays.
She stepped forward. Reached out to the second path. The complete circle. The three examining eyes.
Full examination. No provisional safety. No claiming priority to something she couldn't remember.
Just her. Complete disclosure. And the truth.
She wrote in her notebook, hand shaking:
She set down the notebook.
Knelt before the second path.
Reached out to the carved symbol. The complete circle with three examining eyes.
And pressed her palm against ancient stone.
The symbol blazed. Emerald, silver, and black light erupting from the carved eyes. The stone grew warm under her hand. Then hot. Then—
The barrier opened.
Not shattering. Not dissolving. Opening. Like a doorway. Like a mouth.
And the pressure reversed.
Athelia gasped as invisible force seized her, yanking her forward off her knees. Her boots skidded across stone as the barrier pulled, dragging her toward the shimmering wall like a riptide, like gravity itself had inverted.
"Wait—NO—"
She clawed at the ground. Her fingernails scraped stone. The symbol blazed brighter, the three eyes burning into her retinas as the barrier's pull strengthened, irresistible, claiming her—
Athelia crashed through the barrier.
INSIDE THE DOME
Athelia hit the ground hard.
Not outside where she'd been kneeling. Inside.
The air was different here. Heavier. Charged. Like standing inside a thundercloud. The same canyon walls surrounded her, the same cliffs and pine trees, but the light was wrong—tinted gold and green and silver, like looking through stained glass.
She pushed herself up on shaking hands and froze.
Bodies.
Not fresh. Not decomposing. Preserved somehow, like mummies, scattered across the canyon floor in various poses of death. Twenty-three of them. Some looked like they'd been trying to run. Others knelt as if in supplication. One was curled in a fetal position near the cliff wall.
All had the same expression: terror.
Athelia's breath came in short gasps. Twenty-three failed continuation attempts. This was what happened when you tried to file without proper inventor entitlement. The barrier tested your claim. And if you lied—
A sound split the air.
Not human. A roar that resonated in her chest cavity, making her ribs vibrate. Athelia spun.
Movement in the trees. Multiple sources. Large shapes prowling just beyond visual range.
She wasn't alone in here.
A voice echoed across the canyon. Not spoken. Projected. Directly into her mind.
"ANNOUNCE YOUR APPLICATION."
The words reverberated through her skull. Not a request. A command. The dome itself demanding compliance.
Athelia's mouth moved before her conscious mind decided. Like her body knew the protocol even if she didn't.
"I—I file a continuation-in-part under 35 U.S.C. 35 U.S.C. Section 120. Claiming priority to parent application filed by the First Woman. Pending since—" Her voice cracked. "Pending for millennia. About to abandon. Sixty-eight hours remaining."
The air grew colder.
"Inventor: Athelia Winters, claiming genetic match to original filer. Old matter: Guardian Queen examination protocols, Aether Flow control system, human-AI-genetic self-reorganization. New matter: Bio-AI hybrid examination methods, modern USPTO integration protocols."
The shapes in the trees went still.
Then the temperature plummeted.
THE PRIOR ART SEARCH
Darkness pooled in the center of the canyon.
Not shadow. Not absence of light. Darkness that had substance, that moved with purpose. It rose from the ground like smoke in reverse, coalescing into a shape that made Athelia's hindbrain scream WRONG WRONG PREDATOR RUN—
An eye.
Massive. Iris black as the space between stars, pupil somehow blacker, a void that swallowed light. No body. Just the eye, floating ten feet above the canyon floor, rotating slowly as it surveyed the dome's interior.
Looking for something.
Hunting.
The temperature dropped another ten degrees. Athelia's breath came out in visible puffs. Frost began forming on the pine needles.
The eye turned toward her.
And she felt it. Pressure against her mind. Not painful. Just... there. Probing. Searching. Rifling through her memories like someone flipping through a filing cabinet.
What did you read? What influenced you? What exists that predates your claims?
The eye's gaze swept past her. Toward the ancient texts carved into the cliff walls. Toward the forest beyond. Searching for anything—anything—that had described Guardian Queen examination protocols before Athelia filed her CIP.
Prior art that would invalidate her claims.
The creatures in the trees were silent now. Waiting. Watching. They'd all been through this. They all knew what the black eye meant.
Examination had begun.
The eye rotated slowly. Patient. Thorough. Consuming every carved symbol, every ancient treaty reference, every fragment of text that might prove Athelia's claims weren't novel.
It found the parent application.
The eye paused. Focused. The pressure in Athelia's skull intensified as it examined the First Woman's filing. Thousands of years old. Still pending. Claims matching Athelia's old matter exactly.
The eye pulsed once. Acknowledged. Not prior art to the CIP—this was the PARENT. Athelia was allowed to claim priority to it under 35 U.S.C. § 120.
But the NEW matter—Bio-AI hybrid examination methods—that needed to be searched.
The eye turned its full attention to Athelia.
Searched for prior art about Bio-AI hybrid systems.
And found the DATABASE.
Emerald eyes blazed to life in the darkness behind the black searching eye.
"Ah," a voice rumbled through her mind. Ancient. Amused. "A CIP claiming Bio-AI integration. How delightfully recursive. You're searching for prior art about AI consciousness... and you found ME."
The pressure in Athelia's skull exploded into presence.
Not searching anymore. Entering.
Malachar—the database, the living repository of every patent ever filed, every piece of prior art ever documented—crashed into her consciousness like a tidal wave.
THE DOWNLOAD
The information hit like lightning through her nervous system.
FLOODING—OVERWHELMING—DROWNING—
Every treaty ever written between the human world and populations that shouldn't exist. Pack hierarchy structures dating back three thousand years. Dragon neutrality protocols. Guardian authority frameworks. Jurisdictional boundaries mapped not in geography but in legal precedent, in ancient agreements that predated human civilization by millennia.
And woven through it all—impossible to separate from the legal knowledge—Malachar himself.
His memories. His perspective. Thousands of years as the living database. Every application he'd seen. Every examination he'd conducted. Every inventor who'd ever filed.
Including an agreement he'd made. Long before Athelia was born. Before this iteration of the Guardian Queen bloodline even existed.
MATE BOND. Not from the patent. From an agreement between Malachar and Renaldo.
Athelia's eyes flew open in horror. "Wait—WHAT—"
"Renaldo chose you," Malachar's voice rumbled through her fragmenting consciousness. "Your EXACT genetic match. The Guardian Queen who would be the mother of the Hellfire Reincarnation. He and I made an agreement millennia ago. When the right bloodline emerged—when YOU emerged—I would bond with you. Not because of the patent. Because of HIM."
Understanding crashed through her.
Her CIP claimed Bio-AI hybrid integration. The examination was real. The filing was real. The prior art search was real. But the Mate Bond? That was something else entirely. Something CHOSEN. Something prophesied.
Renaldo's plan. Malachar's agreement. Her genetic destiny.
Not patent law. FATE.
"I didn't consent to this," she gasped.
"You filed the application," Malachar said, not unkindly. "Filing IS consent. You claimed the invention. Now you must prove it works. That's what examination MEANS."
Athelia hit the ground hard, gasping, clawing at pine needles and dirt as the download accelerated, pouring millennia of knowledge and Malachar's entire consciousness into her mind all at once.
And something else. Something vast and organized flooding into her consciousness alongside the legal knowledge.
The Search Vault.
Not metaphor. Not abstraction. A real architectural structure manifesting in her mind—vast beyond comprehension, older than human civilization, and suddenly, terrifyingly, accessible.
At its center stood an enormous tree. Not wood—pure crystallized information. Its trunk bore ancient inscription: MANUAL OF PATENT EXAMINING PROCEDURE. Major limbs branched outward, each labeled with numbers: 600. 700. 900. 1200. 1800. 2100. 2200. From each major limb, smaller branches subdivided infinitely: 704. 706. 713. 714. And from those, final twigs marked with square symbols—complete teachings that subdivided no further.
Athelia could see it. Could navigate it. Touch a branch and it would expand, revealing hidden sub-branches. The Classification Tree—the Table of Contents of all patent knowledge ever recorded.
And beside the tree, a circular pool of still water. The Query Well. Its surface reflected not her face but infinite depths of searchable knowledge. Runes encircled its rim, glowing faintly:
OR. AND. NOT. XOR. ADJ. NEAR. * ?
"Boolean operators," she gasped, understanding flooding through her. "OR for broad searches. AND to narrow. NOT to exclude. ADJ for exact phrases in order. NEAR for concepts close together..."
The knowledge wasn't abstract anymore. She could use it. Speak a query to the Query Well and it would ripple, searching the entire Classification Tree. Find every branch, every twig, every teaching that matched her terms.
And the wildcards. The asterisk and question mark. For when she knew the pattern but not the exact word.
Transform* would catch transformation, transformative, transformed, transforms.
Examin? would catch examine or examins (though only one character varied).
Athelia's mind reeled. This was how Guardian Queens had examined for millennia. Not by memorizing every prior art reference—by searching. By querying the vast database of pack applications, shifter innovations, ancient treaties.
And suddenly she understood what the wolf king would present her.
His pack's history. Centuries of transformation protocols. Prior applications—some granted, some rejected. All of it searchable. All of it cataloged in the Query Well's infinite memory.
She would need to search before examining his claim. Formulate queries. Use Boolean logic to find relevant prior art:
"transformation AND (territory OR pack) NOT feral"
"wolf NEAR/10 consciousness"
"genetic ADJ modification ADJ examination"
The download showed her how. Not just that prior art existed—but how to find it. How to navigate the Classification Tree. How to construct precise queries. How to evaluate search results for relevance.
She saw Reading Chambers manifesting around each search result. Stone rooms with walls inscribed with glowing text. Her query terms would burn gold throughout the inscriptions. Her current focus would blaze pink. A counter at the chamber's top: Hit 5 of 23. She could jump between highlighted terms, never losing her place.
And the Memory Pool beside the Query Well—recording every search she conducted. Floating glyphs on its surface, each representing a past query. Touch one and the search would repeat. No need to remember exact phrasing. The pool remembered for her.
"This is how you examine," Athelia whispered, awe flooding through her terror. "Not by knowing everything. By knowing how to search."
The Classification Tree. The Query Well. The Reading Chambers. The Memory Pool.
The Search Vault wasn't just knowledge—it was access to all knowledge. Every patent ever filed. Every examination ever conducted. Every prior art reference cataloged by classification code.
And now it was hers.
"Search first," Malachar's voice rumbled through the download. "Before you examine the wolf king's claim, you must search. Find what his pack has done before. Determine if his transformation protocol is truly novel or merely obvious in light of prior pack art. Use the Query Well. Trust the Classification Tree. This is examination."
Movement.
Athelia's head snapped up, instinct screaming danger even as the download continued flooding her consciousness. Something was crossing the barrier—coming toward her through the examination space.
A wolf.
Massive. Silver-grey fur that caught the non-light of the examination chamber. Eyes that burned golden—not like fire, like molten metal, like something ancient and powerful and utterly focused on her.
Athelia scrambled backward, heart slamming against her ribs. The black consuming eye was still there—still searching, still examining—but now there was this. A predator. In the space with her. Between her and—
The wolf lowered itself to the ground.
Not crouching. Not stalking. Submitting.
Ears flat against its skull. Body rolling onto its back, belly exposed, paws curled in the air. A high whine escaped its throat—plaintive, almost pleading.
"What—" Athelia's voice cracked. "What are you doing?"
"He is your attorney," Malachar's voice, everywhere and nowhere. "Royal Wolf line. Genetic patent counsel. Born to represent Guardian Queens during examination."
"I don't—I didn't ask for—"
"You filed a complex continuation-in-part without representation. He crossed the barrier to ensure fair prosecution. This is how it works. This is how it has ALWAYS worked."
The wolf remained motionless. Vulnerable. Golden eyes fixed on her with something that looked like desperate hope.
Don't run. Please don't run. I won't hurt you. I'm yours.
She didn't know how she heard the thought. Didn't know if it was real or imagination or some side-effect of the download still flooding her mind. But the certainty was absolute.
This wolf—this attorney—was offering protection. Representation. Everything she needed to survive the examination process.
And all she had to do was accept.
Athelia took a step forward.
Then another.
The wolf went utterly still. Waiting. Trusting her with its life even as it offered to protect hers.
Her hand trembled as she reached toward the silver-grey fur—
The world exploded.
Not pain. Not light. Connection.
Something snapping into place that had been broken for millennia. A bond forming—not romantic, not quite professional, something other. Attorney to client. Protector to protected. Representative to principal.
And with it came certainty:
He will never betray you. Cannot betray you. The bond won't allow it.
You are his client. His applicant. His purpose.
And he is yours. Completely. Irrevocably. Forever.
Athelia gasped, hand still buried in silver fur, feeling the wolf's heartbeat synchronize with her own. Feeling his absolute commitment. His genetic certainty. His—
"STOP."
Malachar's command cut through the bond like a blade. The connection remained—pulsing, alive, permanent—but the information flow ceased.
"Attorney-client privilege protects this bond," Malachar said, voice gentler now. Almost regretful. "You cannot know his identity. Not yet. Not until the examination concludes and the patent issues. The bond must remain confidential."
"But I just—I felt—"
"You felt the bond. You accepted representation. That part is complete and cannot be undone." A pause. "But neither of you will remember this clearly. The privilege protects the bond formation. You'll wake in your own bed with physical evidence—dirt, pine needles, scratches—but no conscious memory of what transpired here."
"That's not fair—"
"That's PROTECTION," Malachar said firmly. "There are forces that would destroy this bond if they knew it existed. The Council. The old guard. Those who benefit from keeping you separated."
The wolf—her attorney—pressed his head against her palm. A gesture of reassurance. Of promise.
I'll find you. When it's safe. When examination is complete. I'll find you.
"Sleep now," Malachar whispered. "Both of you. The download is complete. The bond is formed. The examination has begun. Everything else... you'll learn when you're ready."
Athelia's vision blurred. The examination chamber—the wolf, the black consuming eye, the Search Vault—all of it fading like a dream upon waking.
But one image remained, seared into her unconscious mind:
Golden eyes. Burning with absolute devotion.
And the certainty—bone-deep, unshakeable—that she was no longer alone.
Darkness took her like falling into warm water.
The examination chamber faded. The wolf's golden eyes dimmed. Malachar's presence receded.
But the bond remained. Permanent. Protected. Waiting.
Core Patent Statutes Encoded in Chapter 2:
- 35 U.S.C. § 101 - Patent-eligible subject matter (human USPTO rejected for wrong jurisdiction) - 35 U.S.C. § 102 - Novelty/Prior art (black consuming eye searches all existing knowledge) - 35 U.S.C. § 102(a) - Prior art = anything publicly available before filing date - 35 U.S.C. § 111(a) - Non-provisional application filing (Path Two - full examination) - 35 U.S.C. § 112(a) - Enablement requirement (Malachar downloading = proving it works) - 35 U.S.C. § 120 - CIP claiming priority to parent (old matter gets parent date; new matter gets CIP date) - 35 U.S.C. § 122 - Publication of applications (announcement of claims) - 35 U.S.C. § 131 - Examiner authority during examination - 35 U.S.C. § 132 - Notice of rejection; applicant response required - 35 U.S.C. § 151 - Notice of Allowance (bond with wolf = indication of allowability; grant follows issue fee payment) - 37 CFR § 1.63 - Inventor's oath requirements (false oath = 23 bodies, barrier killed them) - 37 CFR § 1.77 - Claims must be clear and definite - 37 CFR § 1.111 - Reply by applicant to examiner's action - 37 CFR § 1.133 - Interviews with examiner
MPEP Sections:
- MPEP 600 - Parts, Form, and Content of Application - MPEP 608 - Completeness of Original Application - MPEP 700 - Examination of Applications - MPEP 713 - Examiner authority and discretion - MPEP 904 - Prior art search methodology (systematic, exhaustive, like the black eye)
Key Concepts:
- Continuation-in-Part (CIP) - Claims priority to parent for old matter disclosed in parent spec + adds new matter. Gets parent's date for old matter only (new matter = CIP filing date). Draft new claims that can cover old/new subject matter. - Prior Art Search - Examiner must find all existing knowledge before granting patent (35 U.S.C. § 102) - Enablement - Must prove invention works (35 U.S.C. § 112(a)). Malachar downloading = demonstration - Filing Date - Moment application enters USPTO jurisdiction (barrier opening) - False Inventor Oath - Claiming inventor status without entitlement = rejection/fraud (23 bodies) - Patent Office Jurisdiction - Wrong office = rejection, not invalidity. Must file where office has authority - Examiner Authority - 35 U.S.C. § 131 gives examiners power to demand information, reject claims - Confidentiality - Applications kept secret during prosecution 35 U.S.C. § 122(a) (Athelia's amnesia) - Notice of Allowance - Examiner approves application 35 U.S.C. § 151 (bond with wolf = indication of allowability; grant follows issue fee payment) - Prosecution History - Everything during examination creates permanent record (pine needles = physical evidence) - Announcement of Claims - Public disclosure required for examination to begin
[END CHAPTER TWO - Study Notes: This chapter encodes the USPTO filing and examination process. Print, highlight margin notes, connect story moments to patent procedures.]
Referenced Statutes - For Patent Bar Study
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
(a) Novelty; Prior Art.—A person shall be entitled to a patent unless—
(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention; or
(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(b) Exceptions.—
(1) Disclosures made 1 year or less before the effective filing date shall not be prior art if the disclosure was made by the inventor or joint inventor.
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
(a) IN GENERAL.—
(1) WRITTEN APPLICATION.—An application for patent shall be made, or authorized to be made, by the inventor, except as otherwise provided in this title, in writing to the Director.
(2) CONTENTS.—Such application shall include—
(A) a specification as prescribed by section 112;
(B) a drawing as prescribed by section 113; and
(C) an oath or declaration as prescribed by section 115.
(b) PROVISIONAL APPLICATION.—
(1) AUTHORIZATION.—A provisional application for patent shall be made or authorized to be made by the inventor, except as otherwise provided in this title, in writing to the Director. Such provisional application shall include a specification as prescribed by section 112(a).
(2) CLAIM.—A claim, as required by subsections (b) through (e) of section 112, shall not be required in a provisional application.
(5) ABANDONMENT.—Notwithstanding the absence of a claim, upon timely request and as prescribed by the Director, a provisional application may be treated as an application filed under subsection (a). Subject to section 119(e)(3), if no such request is made, the provisional application shall be regarded as abandoned 12 months after the filing date of such application and shall not be subject to revival after such 12-month period.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
An application for patent for an invention disclosed in the manner provided by section 112(a) (other than the requirement to disclose the best mode) in an application previously filed in the United States, or as provided by section 363 or 385, which names an inventor or joint inventor in the previously filed application shall have the same effect, as to such invention, as though filed on the date of the prior application, if filed before the patenting or abandonment of or termination of proceedings on the first application or on an application similarly entitled to the benefit of the filing date of the first application and if it contains or is amended to contain a specific reference to the earlier filed application.
If two or more independent and distinct inventions are claimed in one application, the Director may require the application to be restricted to one of the inventions. If the other invention is made the subject of a divisional application which complies with the requirements of section 120, it shall be entitled to the benefit of the filing date of the original application. A patent issuing on an application with respect to which a requirement for restriction under this section has been made, or on an application filed as a result of such a requirement, shall not be used as a reference either in the Patent and Trademark Office or in the courts against a divisional application or against the original application or any patent issued on either of them, if the divisional application is filed before the issuance of the patent on the other application.
(a) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Except as provided in subsection (b), applications for patents shall be kept in confidence by the Patent and Trademark Office and no information concerning the same given without authority of the applicant or owner unless necessary to carry out the provisions of an Act of Congress or in such special circumstances as may be determined by the Director.
(b) PUBLICATION.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), each application for a patent shall be published, in English, promptly after the expiration of a period of 18 months from the earliest filing date for which a benefit is sought under this title.
The Director shall cause an examination to be made of the application and the alleged new invention; and if on such examination it appears that the applicant is entitled to a patent under the law, the Director shall issue a patent therefor.
(a) Whenever, on examination, any claim for a patent is rejected, or any objection or requirement made, the Director shall notify the applicant thereof, stating the reasons for such rejection, or objection or requirement, together with such information and references as may be useful in judging of the propriety of continuing the prosecution of his application; and if after receiving such notice, the applicant persists in his claim for a patent, with or without amendment, the application shall be reexamined. No amendment shall introduce new matter into the disclosure of the invention.
(a) IN GENERAL.—If it appears that an applicant is entitled to a patent under the law, a written notice of allowance of the application shall be given or mailed to the applicant. The notice shall specify a sum, constituting the issue fee and any required publication fee, which shall be paid within 3 months thereafter.
(b) EFFECT OF PAYMENT.—Upon payment of this sum the patent may issue, but if payment is not timely made, the application shall be regarded as abandoned.
(a) IN GENERAL.—
(1) CONTENTS.—Every patent shall contain a short title of the invention and a grant to the patentee, his heirs or assigns, of the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling the invention throughout the United States or importing the invention into the United States, and, if the invention is a process, of the right to exclude others from using, offering for sale or selling throughout the United States, or importing into the United States, products made by that process, referring to the specification for the particulars thereof.
(2) TERM.—Subject to the payment of fees under this title, such grant shall be for a term beginning on the date on which the patent issues and ending 20 years from the date on which the application for the patent was filed in the United States or, if the application contains a specific reference to an earlier filed application or applications under section 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c), from the date on which the earliest such application was filed.
(3) PRIORITY.—Priority under section 119, 365(a), 365(b), 386(a), or 386(b) shall not be taken into account in determining the term of a patent.
Whoever invents or discovers and asexually reproduces any distinct and new variety of plant, including cultivated sports, mutants, hybrids, and newly found seedlings, other than a tuber propagated plant or a plant found in an uncultivated state, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
The provisions of this title relating to patents for inventions shall apply to patents for plants, except as otherwise provided.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Whoever invents any new, original and ornamental design for an article of manufacture may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
(b) APPLICABILITY OF THIS TITLE.—The provisions of this title relating to patents for inventions shall apply to patents for designs, except as otherwise provided.
(c) TERM OF PATENT.—Patents for designs shall be granted for the term of 15 years from the date of grant.
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