[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 37, Volume 1]
[Revised as of July 1, 2008]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 37CFR4.2]

[Page 204]
 
              TITLE 37--PATENTS, TRADEMARKS, AND COPYRIGHTS
 
  CHAPTER I--UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE, DEPARTMENT OF 
                                COMMERCE
 
PART 4_COMPLAINTS REGARDING INVENTION PROMOTERS--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 4.2  Definitions.

    (a) Invention Promoter means any person, firm, partnership, 
corporation, or other entity who offers to perform or performs invention 
promotion services for, or on behalf of, a customer, and who holds 
itself out through advertising in any mass media as providing such 
services, but does not include--
    (1) Any department or agency of the Federal Government or of a State 
or local government;
    (2) Any nonprofit, charitable, scientific, or educational 
organization qualified under applicable State law or described under 
section 170(b)(1)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
    (3) Any person or entity involved in the evaluation to determine 
commercial potential of, or offering to license or sell, a utility 
patent or a previously filed nonprovisional utility patent application;
    (4) Any party participating in a transaction involving the sale of 
the stock or assets of a business; or
    (5) Any party who directly engages in the business of retail sales 
of products or the distribution of products.
    (b) Customer means any individual who enters into a contract with an 
invention promoter for invention promotion services.
    (c) Contract for Invention Promotion Services means a contract by 
which an invention promoter undertakes invention promotion services for 
a customer.
    (d) Invention Promotion Services means the procurement or attempted 
procurement for a customer of a firm, corporation, or other entity to 
develop and market products or services that include the invention of 
the customer.