35 USC § 365 - Right of priority; benefit of the filing date of a prior application

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(a) In accordance with the conditions and requirements of subsections (a) through (d) ofsection 119 of this title, a national application shall be entitled to the right of priority based on a prior filed international application which designated at least one country other than the United States.

(b) In accordance with the conditions and requirement of section 119 (a) of this title and the treaty and the Regulations, an international application designating the United States shall be entitled to the right of priority based on a prior foreign application, or a prior international application designating at least one country other than the United States.

(c) In accordance with the conditions and requirements of section 120 of this title, an international application designating the United States shall be entitled to the benefit of the filing date of a prior national application or a prior international application designating the United States, and a national application shall be entitled to the benefit of the filing date of a prior international application designating the United States. If any claim for the benefit of an earlier filing date is based on a prior international application which designated but did not originate in the United States, the Director may require the filing in the Patent and Trademark Office of a certified copy of such application together with a translation thereof into the English language, if it was filed in another language.

Source

(Added Pub. L. 94–131, § 1,Nov. 14, 1975, 89 Stat. 686; amended Pub. L. 98–622, title IV, § 403(a),Nov. 8, 1984, 98 Stat. 3392; Pub. L. 103–465, title V, § 532(c)(4),Dec. 8, 1994, 108 Stat. 4987; Pub. L. 106–113, div. B, § 1000(a)(9) [title IV, § 4732(a)(10)(A)], Nov. 29, 1999, 113 Stat. 1536, 1501A–582; Pub. L. 107–273, div. C, title III, § 13206(b)(1)(B),Nov. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 1906.)

Amendments

2002—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 107–273made technical correction to directory language of Pub. L. 106–113. See 1999 Amendment note below.

1999—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 106–113, as amended by Pub. L. 107–273, substituted “Director” for “Commissioner”.

1994—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103–465, § 532(c)(4)(A), substituted “subsections (a) through (d) ofsection 119” for “section 119”.

Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 103–465, § 532(c)(4)(B), substituted “section 119 (a)” for “the first paragraph of section 119”.

1984—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 98–622substituted “Patent and Trademark Office” for “Patent Office”.

Effective Date of 1999 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 106–113effective 4 months after Nov. 29, 1999, see section 1000(a)(9) [title IV, § 4731] of Pub. L. 106–113, set out as a note under section 1 of this title.

Effective Date of 1994 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 103–465effective 6 months after Dec. 8, 1994, and applicable to all patent applications filed in the United States on or after that effective date, with provisions relating to earliest filed patent application, see section 534(b)(1), (3) ofPub. L. 103–465, set out as a note under section 154 of this title.

Effective Date of 1984 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 98–622effective Nov. 8, 1984, see section 406(a) ofPub. L. 98–622, set out as a note under section 351 of this title.

The table below lists the classification updates, since Jan. 7, 2011, for this section. Updates to a broader range of sections may be found at the update page for containing chapter, title, etc.

The most recent Classification Table update that we have noticed was Friday, May 13, 2011

An empty table indicates that we see no relevant changes listed in the classification tables. If you suspect that our system may be missing something, please double-check with the Office of the Law Revision Counsel.

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Abbreviations used in the Description of Change column:

An empty field implies a standard amendment.
"new" means a new section or new note, or all new text of an existing section or note.
"nt" means note.
"nt [tbl]" means note [table].
"prec" means preceding.
"fr" means a transfer from another section.
"to" means a transfer to another section.
"omitted" means the section is omitted.
"repealed" means the section is repealed.
"nt ed change" and "ed change" - See the Editorial Classification Change Table [pdf].

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General Reference

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Refer to the Thomas site for changes that have not yet made it into the classification tables.

35 USC	Description of Change	Session Year	Public Law	Statutes at Large

35 USC § 365 - Right of priority; benefit of the filing date of a prior application

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