Revision of Affidavits Under 37 CFR 1.131

The Patent and Trademark Office (Office) is amending the rules of practice relating to submission of affidavits or declaration under 37 CFR 1.131(a) to implement the relevant provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement Act and the Uruguay Round Agreements Act, respectively. The change will allow an inventor to show a completion of the invention in this country or a NAFTA or WTO member country before the filing of the application on which the U.S. patent issued or before the date of the foreign patent, or before the date of the printed publication.