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Patent Act of 1952

A Short Background of the Patent Act of 1952

A Short Background of the Patent Act of 1952

Patent law in the United States currently exists as provided for by the legal basis of the United States Code. Congress’s ability to pass legislation on patent law is derived from the legal foundation of Article One, Section 8(8) of the Constitution, which referred to the intention “to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.” 
The Patent Act of 1952 Constitutional prima facie evidence on legal proceedings. In order to allow the United States Code to itself act as law, it would be necessary to more regularly and consistently revise its various provisions. With a mind to this, a sub-committee of the House Committee on the Judiciary had the task of revising the United States Code. 
This committee responded to concerns about judicial supervision of patents by deciding to place new provisions in the revised code. The first draft was  made in 1950, after which it went through many hands and underwent many changes up to the point of being passed into law.  
Congress passed the Patent Act on July 4, 1952, upon which it was signed by President Harry S. Truman. The new patent law went into effect on January 1, 1953.

Patent Act of 1952

Patent Act of 1952

The means through which an American citizen may patent an invention was placed on a regular, systematic basis by the Patent Act of 1952Constitution 
The 1952 Act enacted several practical changes in how an individual might patent an invention inside the country. 
The main changes to patent/invention laws were made through Sections 103 and 271 of Title 35. Section 103, on “Conditions for Patentability; non-obvious subject matter” made it clear that an invention did not merely have to be new, but also original in regard to the inventions which had come before it. 
This change is sometimes phrased as the invention requirement. The language of non-obvious invention means that the new development has to go beyond the capacity of a person of “ordinary skill in the art” to which it applies. Section 271, “Infringement of Patent,” brought the term “contributory infringement” in federal law and thus allowed for greater scope in preventing and prosecuting violations of patent rights. 
According to this doctrine, any person who facilitated the infringement of patent rights after the fact, such as by offering for sale an item based on infringement, would be liable under law as well for contributing to patent/invention infringement.

The Patent Act of 1952

The Patent Act of 1952

 

The Patent Act of 1952 affirmed that patent rights from that time onward would be enforced according to federal statutes. To this end, it also reordered the government agency responsible for patent rights, changing the former Patent Office into the newly dubbed Patent and Trademark Office. 

This agency was placed under the aegis of the newly ordered Title 35 of the United States Code. The Parts of this Title were ordered according to the area of patent rights they dealt with. Comprising three at the time, the Parts were later increased in number to four, by a major 1975 amendment on the issue of international patent rights in supplement to the formerly country-based patent protection.

As Part I of Title 35, the 1952 Act passed its laws on "Patent and Trademark Office," which specified the duties that would be incurred by the titular office and the capabilities it would be given for carrying them out, as well as other organizational details. Within Part I, Chapter 1, comprising Sections 1 to 14, dealt with the subject of "Establishment, Officers, and Employees, Functions." Chapter 2, from Sections 21 to 26, was given to "Proceedings in the Patent and Trademark Office." Sections 31 to 33, of Chapter 3, address "Practice Before Patent and Trademark Office." Chapter 4, on "Patent Fees; Funding; Search Systems," covers Sections 41 to 42.

Part II of Title 35 concerns the subject of "PatentabilityPlant PatentsDesign 

Part III was devoted by the 1952 Act to "Patents and Protection of Patent Rights." Chapter 25, including Sections 251 to 256, involves "Amendment and Correction to Patents." Chapter 26, of Sections 261 and 262, is on "Ownership and Assignment." "Government Interests in Patents" is covered by Sections 266 and 267 in Chapter 27. Sections 271 to 273 of Chapter 28 deal with "Infringement of Patents." Chapter 29 concerns "Remedies for Infringement of Patent, and Other Actions," in Sections 281 to 297. "Prior Art Citations to Office and Ex Parte Reexamination of Patents" is covered in Sections 301 to 307 of Chapter 30. Chapter 31 deals with "Optical Inter Partes Reexamination Procedures" in Sections 311 to 318.

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