The Director shall cause an examination to be made of the application and the alleged new invention; and if on such examination it appears that the applicant is entitled to a patent under the law, the Director shall issue a patent therefor.
35 U.S. Code § 131 - Examination of application
Based on Title 35, U.S.C., 1946 ed., § 36 (R.S. 4893).
The first part is revised in language and amplified. The phrase “and that the invention is sufficiently useful and important” is omitted as unnecessary, the requirements for patentability being stated in sections 101, 102 and 103.
2002—Pub. L. 107–273 made technical correction to directory language of Pub. L. 106–113. See 1999 Amendment note below.
1999—Pub. L. 106–113, as amended by Pub. L. 107–273, substituted “Director” for “Commissioner” in two places.
Amendment by Pub. L. 106–113 effective 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.
Pub. L. 117–328, div. W, § 106, Dec. 29, 2022, 136 Stat. 5521, provided that:
[For definitions of terms used in section 106 of div. W of Pub. L. 117–328, set out above, see section 102 of div. W of Pub. L. 117–328, set out as a Definitions note under section 1 of this title.]