MPEP Section 716.02(g), Declaration or Affidavit Form

Executive summary:

This document contains Section 716.02(g) ("Declaration or Affidavit Form") of the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (the "M.P.E.P."), Eighth Edition, Seventh Revision (July 2008). This page was last updated in November 2009. You may return to the section index to find a particular section. Alternatively, you may search the MPEP using the search box that appears on the left side of every page of BitLaw--you may restrict your search to the MPEP on the search results page.

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716.02(g) Declaration or Affidavit Form

"The reason for requiring evidence in declaration or affidavit form is to obtain the assurances that any statements or representations made are correct, as provided by 35 U.S.C. 25 and 18 U.S.C. 1001." Permitting a publication to substitute for expert testimony would circumvent the guarantees built into the statute. Ex parte Gray, 10 USPQ2d 1922, 1928 (Bd. Pat. App. & Inter. 1989). Publications may, however, be evidence of the facts in issue and should be considered to the extent that they are probative.