Establishment of the Patent Office

Sec. 475. There shall be in the Department of the Interior, an office known as the Patent-Office, where all records, books, models, drawings, specifications, and other papers and things pertaining to patents shall be safely kept and preserved.

Sec. 476. (Officers and Employes). There shall be in the Patent-Office a Commissioner of Patents, one Assistant Commissioner, and three Examiners-in-chief, who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. All other officers, clerks, and employes authorized by law for the office shall be appointed by the Secretary of the Interior, upon the nomination of the Commissioner of Patents.

1 Waterman vs. Mackenzie, 138 U. S., 257.

2 United States Constitution, Art. 1, Sec. 8, Clause 8.

Salaries

Section 477. The salaries of the officers mentioned in the preceding section shall be as follows:

The Commissioner of Patents, $4,500 a year.

The Assistant Commissioner of Patents, $3,000 a year.

Three examiners-in-chief, $3,000 a year each

Bonds of Commissioner and Chief Clerk

Sec. 479. The Commissioner of Patents and the chief clerk, before entering upon their duties, shall severally give bond, with sureties, to the Treasurer of the United States, the former in the sum of $10,000, and the latter in the sum of $5,000, conditioned for the faithful discharge of their respective duties, and that they shall render to the proper officers of the treasury a true account of all money received by virtue of their offices.

Restrictions Upon Officers and Employes

Sec. 480. All officers and employes of the Patent Office shall be incapable, during the period for which they hold their appointments, to acquire or take, directly or indirectly, except by inheritance or bequest, any right or interest in any patent issued by the office.

Duties of Commissioner

Section 481. The Commissioner of Patents, under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, shall superintend or perform all duties respecting the granting and issuing of patents directed by law; and he shall have charge of all books, records, papers, models, machines, and other things belonging to the Patent-Office.

Duties of Assistant Commissioner

Section 1. (Duties of Assistant Commissioner) * * * Patent Office. * * * Assistant Commissioner, shall perform such duties pertaining to the office of commissioner as may be assigned to him by the Commissioner. * * *

Duties Of Examiners-In-Chief

Section 482. The examiners-in-chief shall be persons of competent legal knowledge and scientific ability, whose duty it shall be, on the written petition of the appellant, to revise and determine upon the validity of the adverse decisions of examiners upon applications for patents, and for re-issues of patents, and in interference cases; and, when required by the Commissioner, they shall hear and report upon claims for extensions, and perform such other like duties as he may assign them.

Establishment of Regulations

Section 483. The Commissioner of Patents, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, may from time to time establish regulations, not inconsistent with law, for the conduct of proceedings in the Patent-Office.

Arrangement And Exhibition Of Models, Etc

Section 484. The Commissioner of Patents shall cause to be classified and arranged in suitable cases, in the rooms and galleries provided for that purpose, the models, specimens of composition, fabrics, manufactures, works of art, and designs, which have been or shall be deposited in the Patent-Office; and the rooms and galleries shall be kept open during suitable hours for public inspection.

Disposals of Models on Rejected Applications

Section 485. The Commissioner of Patents may restore to the respective applicants, such of the models belonging to rejected applications as he shall not think necessary to be preserved, or he may sell or otherwise dispose of them after the application has been finally rejected for one year, paying the proceeds into the treasury, as other patent moneys are directed to be paid.

Library

Section 486. There shall be purchased for the use of the Patent Office, a library of such scientific works and periodicals, both foreign and American, as may aid the officers in the discharge of their duties, not exceeding the amount annually appropriated for that purpose.

Patent Agents May Be Refused Recognition

Section 487. For gross misconduct, the Commissioner of Patents may refuse to recognize any person as a patent agent, either generally or in any particular case; but the reasons for such refusal shall be duly recorded, and be subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior.

Printing of Papers Filed

Section 488. The Commissioner of Patents may require all papers filed in the Patent-Office, if not correctly, legibly, and clearly written, to be printed at the cost of the party filing them.

Printing Copies of Claims, Laws, Decisions, Etc.

Section 489. The Commissioner of Patents may print, or cause to be printed, copies of the claims of current issues, and copies of such laws, decisions, regulations and circulars as may be necessary for the information of the public.

Printing Specifications and Drawings

Section 490. The Commissioner of Patents is authorized to have printed, from time to time, for gratuitous distribution, not to exceed one hundred and fifty copies of the complete specifications and drawings of each patent hereafter issued, together with suitable indexes, one copy to be placed for free public inspection in each capitol of every State and Territory, one for the like purpose in the clerk's office of the district court of each judicial district of the United States, except when such offices are located in State or territorial capitols, and one in the Library of Congress, which copies shall be certified under the hand of the Commissioner and seal of the (e) Patent-Office, and shall not be taken from the depositories for any other purpose than to be used as evidence.