[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 37, Volume 1]
[Revised as of July 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 37CFR1.52]

[Page 46-50]
 
              TITLE 37--PATENTS, TRADEMARKS, AND COPYRIGHTS
 
  CHAPTER I--UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE, DEPARTMENT OF 
                                COMMERCE
 
PART 1--RULES OF PRACTICE IN PATENT CASES--Table of Contents
 
                Subpart B--National Processing Provisions
 
Sec. 1.52  Language, paper, writing, margins.

    (a) Papers that are to become a part of the permanent United States 
Patent and Trademark Office records in the file of a patent application 
or a reexamination proceeding. (1) All papers, other than drawings, that 
are to become a part of the permanent United States Patent and Trademark 
Office records in the file of a patent application or reexamination 
proceeding must be on sheets of paper that are the same size, and:
    (i) Flexible, strong, smooth, non-shiny, durable, and white;
    (ii) Either 21.0 cm by 29.7 cm (DIN size A4) or 21.6 cm by 27.9 cm 
(8\1/2\ by 11 inches), with each sheet including a top margin of at 
least 2.0 cm (3/4 inch), a left side margin of at least 2.5 cm (1 inch), 
a right side margin of at least 2.0 cm (3/4 inch), and a bottom margin 
of at least 2.0 cm (3/4 inch);
    (iii) Written on only one side in portrait orientation;
    (iv) Plainly and legibly written either by a typewriter or machine 
printer in permanent dark ink or its equivalent; and
    (v) Presented in a form having sufficient clarity and contrast 
between the paper and the writing thereon to permit the direct 
reproduction of readily legible copies in any number by use of 
photographic, electrostatic, photo-offset, and microfilming processes 
and electronic capture by use of digital imaging and optical character 
recognition.
    (2) All papers that are to become a part of the permanent records of 
the United States Patent and Trademark Office should have no holes in 
the sheets as submitted.
    (3) The provisions of this paragraph and paragraph (b) of this 
section do not apply to the pre-printed information on forms provided by 
the Office, or to the copy of the patent submitted in double column 
format as the specification in a reissue application or request for 
reexamination.
    (4) See Sec. 1.58 for chemical and mathematical formulae and tables, 
and Sec. 1.84 for drawings.
    (5) If papers that do not comply with paragraph (a)(1) of this 
section are submitted as part of the permanent record, other than the 
drawings, applicant, or the patent owner, or the requester in a 
reexamination proceeding, will be notified and must provide substitute 
papers that comply with paragraph (a)(1) of this section within a set 
time period.
    (b) The application (specification, including the claims, drawings, 
and oath or declaration) or reexamination proceeding and any amendments 
or corrections to the application or reexamination proceeding. (1) The 
application or proceeding and any amendments or corrections to the 
application (including any translation submitted pursuant to paragraph 
(d) of this section) or proceeding, except as provided for in Sec. 1.69 
and paragraph (d) of this section, must:
    (i) Comply with the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section; 
and
    (ii) Be in the English language or be accompanied by a translation 
of the application and a translation of any corrections or amendments 
into the English language together with a statement that the translation 
is accurate.

[[Page 47]]

    (2) The specification (including the abstract and claims) for other 
than reissue applications and reexamination proceedings, and any 
amendments for applications (including reissue applications) and 
reexamination proceedings to the specification, except as provided for 
in Sec.Sec. 1.821 through 1.825, must have:
    (i) Lines that are 1\1/2\ or double spaced;
    (ii) Text written in a nonscript type font (e.g., Arial, Times 
Roman, or Courier) lettering style having capital letters which are at 
least 0.21 cm (0.08 inch) high; and
    (iii) Only a single column of text.
    (3) The claim or claims must commence on a separate sheet (Sec. 
1.75(h)).
    (4) The abstract must commence on a separate sheet or be submitted 
as the first page of the patent in a reissue application or 
reexamination proceeding (Sec. 1.72(b)).
    (5) Other than in a reissue application or reexamination proceeding, 
the pages of the specification including claims and abstract must be 
numbered consecutively, starting with 1, the numbers being centrally 
located above or preferably, below, the text.
    (6) Other than in a reissue application or reexamination proceeding, 
the paragraphs of the specification, other than in the claims or 
abstract, may be numbered at the time the application is filed, and 
should be individually and consecutively numbered using Arabic numerals, 
so as to unambiguously identify each paragraph. The number should 
consist of at least four numerals enclosed in square brackets, including 
leading zeros (e.g., [0001]). The numbers and enclosing brackets should 
appear to the right of the left margin as the first item in each 
paragraph, before the first word of the paragraph, and should be 
highlighted in bold. A gap, equivalent to approximately four spaces, 
should follow the number. Nontext elements (e.g., tables, mathematical 
or chemical formulae, chemical structures, and sequence data) are 
considered part of the numbered paragraph around or above the elements, 
and should not be independently numbered. If a nontext element extends 
to the left margin, it should not be numbered as a separate and 
independent paragraph. A list is also treated as part of the paragraph 
around or above the list, and should not be independently numbered. 
Paragraph or section headers (titles), whether abutting the left margin 
or centered on the page, are not considered paragraphs and should not be 
numbered.
    (7) If papers that do not comply with paragraphs (b)(1) through 
(b)(5) of this section are submitted as part of the application, 
applicant, or patent owner, or requester in a reexamination proceeding, 
will be notified and the applicant, patent owner or requester in a 
reexamination proceeding must provide substitute papers that comply with 
paragraphs (b)(1) through (b)(5) of this section within a set time 
period.
    (c)(1) Any interlineation, erasure, cancellation or other alteration 
of the application papers filed must be made before the signing of any 
accompanying oath or declaration pursuant to Sec. 1.63 referring to 
those application papers and should be dated and initialed or signed by 
the applicant on the same sheet of paper. Application papers containing 
alterations made after the signing of an oath or declaration referring 
to those application papers must be supported by a supplemental oath or 
declaration under Sec. 1.67. In either situation, a substitute 
specification (Sec. 1.125) is required if the application papers do not 
comply with paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section.
    (2) After the signing of the oath or declaration referring to the 
application papers, amendments may only be made in the manner provided 
by Sec. 1.121.
    (3) Notwithstanding the provisions of this paragraph, if an oath or 
declaration is a copy of the oath or declaration from a prior 
application, the application for which such copy is submitted may 
contain alterations that do not introduce matter that would have been 
new matter in the prior application.
    (d) A nonprovisional or provisional application may be filed in a 
language other than English.
    (1) Nonprovisional application. If a nonprovisional application is 
filed in a language other than English, an English language translation 
of the non-English language application, a statement that the 
translation is accurate, and the processing fee set forth in

[[Page 48]]

Sec. 1.17(i) are required. If these items are not filed with the 
application, applicant will be notified and given a period of time 
within which they must be filed in order to avoid abandonment.
    (2) Provisional application. If a provisional application is filed 
in a language other than English, an English language translation of the 
non-English language provisional application will not be required in the 
provisional application. See Sec. 1.78(a) for the requirements for 
claiming the benefit of such provisional application in a nonprovisional 
application.
    (e) Electronic documents that are to become part of the permanent 
United States Patent and Trademark Office records in the file of a 
patent application or reexamination proceeding. (1) The following 
documents may be submitted to the Office on a compact disc in compliance 
with this paragraph:
    (i) A computer program listing (see Sec. 1.96);
    (ii) A ``Sequence Listing'' (submitted under Sec. 1.821(c)); or
    (iii) A table (see Sec. 1.58) that has more than 50 pages of text.
    (2) A compact disc as used in this part means a Compact Disc-Read 
Only Memory (CD-ROM) or a Compact Disc-Recordable (CD-R) in compliance 
with this paragraph. A CD-ROM is a ``read-only'' medium on which the 
data is pressed into the disc so that it cannot be changed or erased. A 
CD-R is a ``write once'' medium on which once the data is recorded, it 
is permanent and cannot be changed or erased.
    (3)(i) Each compact disc must conform to the International Standards 
Organization (ISO) 9660 standard, and the contents of each compact disc 
must be in compliance with the American Standard Code for Information 
Interchange (ASCII).
    (ii) Each compact disc must be enclosed in a hard compact disc case 
within an unsealed padded and protective mailing envelope and 
accompanied by a transmittal letter on paper in accordance with 
paragraph (a) of this section. The transmittal letter must list for each 
compact disc the machine format (e.g., IBM-PC, Macintosh), the operating 
system compatibility (e.g., MS-DOS, MS-Windows, Macintosh, Unix), a list 
of files contained on the compact disc including their names, sizes in 
bytes, and dates of creation, plus any other special information that is 
necessary to identify, maintain, and interpret the information on the 
compact disc. Compact discs submitted to the Office will not be returned 
to the applicant.
    (4) Any compact disc must be submitted in duplicate unless it 
contains only the ``Sequence Listing'' in computer readable form 
required by Sec. 1.821(e). The compact disc and duplicate copy must be 
labeled ``Copy 1'' and ``Copy 2,'' respectively. The transmittal letter 
which accompanies the compact disc must include a statement that the two 
compact discs are identical. In the event that the two compact discs are 
not identical, the Office will use the compact disc labeled ``Copy 1'' 
for further processing. Any amendment to the information on a compact 
disc must be by way of a replacement compact disc in compliance with 
this paragraph containing the substitute information, and must be 
accompanied by a statement that the replacement compact disc contains no 
new matter. The compact disc and copy must be labeled ``COPY 1 
REPLACEMENT MM/DD/YYYY'' (with the month, day and year of creation 
indicated), and ``COPY 2 REPLACEMENT MM/DD/YYYY,'' respectively.
    (5) The specification must contain an incorporation-by-reference of 
the material on the compact disc in a separate paragraph (Sec. 
1.77(b)(4)), identifying each compact disc by the names of the files 
contained on each of the compact discs, their date of creation and their 
sizes in bytes. The Office may require applicant to amend the 
specification to include in the paper portion any part of the 
specification previously submitted on compact disc.
    (6) A compact disc must also be labeled with the following 
information:
    (i) The name of each inventor (if known);
    (ii) Title of the invention;
    (iii) The docket number, or application number if known, used by the 
person filing the application to identify the application; and
    (iv) A creation date of the compact disc.

[[Page 49]]

    (v) If multiple compact discs are submitted, the label shall 
indicate their order (e.g. ``1 of X'').
    (vi) An indication that the disk is ``Copy 1'' or ``Copy 2'' of the 
submission. See paragraph (b)(4) of this section.
    (7) If a file is unreadable on both copies of the disc, the 
unreadable file will be treated as not having been submitted. A file is 
unreadable if, for example, it is of a format that does not comply with 
the requirements of paragraph (e)(3) of this section, it is corrupted by 
a computer virus, or it is written onto a defective compact disc.

(Pub. L. 94-131, 89 Stat. 685; 35 U.S.C. 6, Pub. L. 97-247; 15 U.S.C. 
1113, 1123)

[43 FR 20462, May. 11, 1978, as amended at 47 FR 41275, Sept. 17, 1982; 
48 FR 2709, Jan. 20, 1983; 49 FR 554, Jan. 4, 1984; 57 FR 2033, Jan. 17, 
1992; 61 FR 42803, Aug. 19, 1996; 62 FR 53186, Oct. 10, 1997; 65 FR 
54664, Sept. 8, 2000; 65 FR 57053, Sept. 20, 2000]

    Effective Date Note: At 68 FR 38627, June 30, 2003,Sec. 1.52 was 
amended by revising paragraphs (a) and (b), effective July 30, 2003. For 
the convenience of the user, the revised text is set forth as follows:

Sec. 1.52  Language, paper, writing, margins, compact disc 
          specifications.

    (a) Papers that are to become a part of the permanent United States 
Patent and Trademark Office records in the file of a patent application 
or a reexamination proceeding.
    (1) All papers, other than drawings, that are submitted on paper or 
by facsimile transmission, and are to become a part of the permanent 
United States Patent and Trademark Office records in the file of a 
patent application or reexamination proceeding, must be on sheets of 
paper that are the same size, not permanently bound together, and:
    (i) Flexible, strong, smooth, non-shiny, durable, and white;
    (ii) Either 21.0 cm by 29.7 cm (DIN size A4) or 21.6 cm by 27.9 cm 
(8\1/2\ by 11 inches), with each sheet including a top margin of at 
least 2.0 cm (\3/4\ inch), a left side margin of at least 2.5 cm (1 
inch), a right side margin of at least 2.0 cm (\3/4\ inch), and a bottom 
margin of at least 2.0 cm (\3/4\ inch);
    (iii) Written on only one side in portrait orientation;
    (iv) Plainly and legibly written either by a typewriter or machine 
printer in permanent dark ink or its equivalent; and
    (v) Presented in a form having sufficient clarity and contrast 
between the paper and the writing thereon to permit the direct 
reproduction of readily legible copies in any number by use of 
photographic, electrostatic, photo-offset, and microfilming processes 
and electronic capture by use of digital imaging and optical character 
recognition.
    (2) All papers that are submitted on paper or by facsimile 
transmission and are to become a part of the permanent records of the 
United States Patent and Trademark Office should have no holes in the 
sheets as submitted.
    (3) The provisions of this paragraph and paragraph (b) of this 
section do not apply to the pre-printed information on paper forms 
provided by the Office, or to the copy of the patent submitted on paper 
in double column format as the specification in a reissue application or 
request for reexamination.
    (4) See Sec. 1.58 for chemical and mathematical formulae and tables, 
and Sec. 1.84 for drawings.
    (5) If papers that are submitted on paper or by facsimile 
transmission do not comply with paragraph (a)(1) of this section and are 
submitted as part of the permanent record, other than the drawings, 
applicant, or the patent owner, or the requester in a reexamination 
proceeding, will be notified and given a period of time within which to 
provide substitute papers that comply with paragraph (a)(1) of this 
section in order to avoid abandonment of the application in the case of 
an applicant for patent, termination of proceedings in the case of a 
patent owner in a reexamination proceeding, or refusal of consideration 
of the papers in the case of a third party requester in a reexamination 
proceeding.
    (6) Papers that are submitted electronically to the Office must be 
formatted and transmitted in compliance with the Office's electronic 
filing system requirements.
    (7) If the papers that are submitted electronically to the Office do 
not comply with paragraph (a)(6) of this section, the applicant, or the 
patent owner, or the requester in a reexamination proceeding, will be 
notified and given a period of time within which to provide substitute 
papers that comply with paragraph (a)(6) of this section in order to 
avoid abandonment of the application in the case of an applicant for 
patent, termination of proceedings in the case of a patent owner in a 
reexamination proceeding, or refusal of consideration of the papers in 
the case of a third party requester in a reexamination proceeding.
    (b) The application (specification, including the claims, drawings, 
and oath or declaration) or reexamination proceeding and any amendments 
or corrections to the application or reexamination proceeding. (1) The 
application or proceeding and any amendments or corrections to the 
application (including any translation submitted pursuant to paragraph 
(d) of this section) or proceeding, except as provided for in Sec. 1.69 
and paragraph (d) of this section, must:
    (i) Comply with the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section; 
and

[[Page 50]]

    (ii) Be in the English language or be accompanied by a translation 
of the application and a translation of any corrections or amendments 
into the English language together with a statement that the translation 
is accurate.
    (2) The specification (including the abstract and claims) for other 
than reissue applications and reexamination proceedings, and any 
amendments for applications (including reissue applications) and 
reexamination proceedings to the specification, except as provided for 
in Sec.Sec. 1.821 through 1.825, must have:
    (i) Lines that are 1\1/2\ or double spaced;
    (ii) Text written in a nonscript type font (e.g., Arial, Times 
Roman, or Courier) lettering style having capital letters which are at 
least 0.21 cm (0.08 inch) high; and
    (iii) Only a single column of text.
    (3) The claim or claims must commence on a separate physical sheet 
or electronic page (Sec. 1.75(h)).
    (4) The abstract must commence on a separate physical sheet or 
electronic page or be submitted as the first page of the patent in a 
reissue application or reexamination proceeding (Sec. 1.72(b)).
    (5) Other than in a reissue application or reexamination proceeding, 
the pages of the specification including claims and abstract must be 
numbered consecutively, starting with 1, the numbers being centrally 
located above or preferably, below, the text.
    (6) Other than in a reissue application or reexamination proceeding, 
the paragraphs of the specification, other than in the claims or 
abstract, may be numbered at the time the application is filed, and 
should be individually and consecutively numbered using Arabic numerals, 
so as to unambiguously identify each paragraph. The number should 
consist of at least four numerals enclosed in square brackets, including 
leading zeros (e.g., [0001]). The numbers and enclosing brackets should 
appear to the right of the left margin as the first item in each 
paragraph, before the first word of the paragraph, and should be 
highlighted in bold. A gap, equivalent to approximately four spaces, 
should follow the number. Nontext elements (e.g., tables, mathematical 
or chemical formulae, chemical structures, and sequence data) are 
considered part of the numbered paragraph around or above the elements, 
and should not be independently numbered. If a nontext element extends 
to the left margin, it should not be numbered as a separate and 
independent paragraph. A list is also treated as part of the paragraph 
around or above the list, and should not be independently numbered. 
Paragraph or section headers (titles), whether abutting the left margin 
or centered on the page, are not considered paragraphs and should not be 
numbered.
    (7) If papers that do not comply with paragraphs (b)(1) through 
(b)(5) of this section are submitted as part of the application, the 
applicant, or patent owner, or requester in a reexamination proceeding, 
will be notified and given a period of time within which to provide 
substitute papers that comply with paragraphs (b)(1) through (b)(5) of 
this section in order to avoid abandonment of the application in the 
case of an applicant for patent, termination of proceedings in the case 
of a patent owner in a reexamination proceeding, or refusal of 
consideration of the papers in the case of a third party requester in a 
reexamination proceeding.

                                * * * * *