呆子的專利部落格

最近碰到一個問題，就是當一個發明，欲主張台灣專利申請案的優先權，來申請美國專利的時候，台灣案和美國案的 Assignee (專利所有權人) 是否必須相同？

所謂優先權，簡單講是一種國與國之間的協定，只要申請人在申請台灣專利的一年內(新式樣為半年)，申請美國專利，美國就視同美國的專利優先權日跟台灣的申請日是同一天。

優先權是需要主張的，而不是自然生效的。因為申請人不講，美國怎麼會知道這個申請案在台灣有對應的申請案存在呢？

專利申請人一般而言是發明人，但是發明人可以將他的發明和專利申請權讓與他人或公司。而且，因為專利是屬國的，所以發明人可以將在台灣的專利申請權讓給 A 公司，在美國的專利申請權則讓給 B 公司。

問題來了， B 公司的美國專利申請案，這時是否可以主張 A 公司在台灣的專利申請案的優先權？

美國專利法中規範國外優先權的條文是 35 USC 119* ，在 MPEP (專利審查程序) 中則規範在 MPEP 201.13**。

35 USC 119 中指出，在美國申請專利的任何人，如果在申請前 12 個月之內有在任何其他符合相關規定的國家，將相同的發明申請專利時，需提供下列三個資訊即可主張優先權： 1) 申請號； 2) 申請國； 3) 申請日。

MPEP 201.13 則規定，在其他國家的申請案中，申請人(發明人)須與在美國的專利申請案相同。(note: 美國專利申請案，在尚未取得專利前，申請人即為發明人。)

因此，只要台灣案和美國案的發明人相同，即使專利的所有權人不同，在美國亦可以主張優先權。


*35 U.S.C. 119

Benefit of earlier filing date; right of priority.

(a) An application for patent for an invention filed in this country by any person who has, or whose legal representatives or assigns have, previously regularly filed an application for a patent for the same invention in a foreign country which affords similar privileges in the case of applications filed in the United States or to citizens of the United States, or in a WTO member country, shall have the same effect as the same application would have if filed in this country on the date on which the application for patent for the same invention was first filed in such foreign country, if the application in this country is filed within twelve months from the earliest date on which such foreign application was filed; but no patent shall be granted on any application for patent for an invention which had been patented or described in a printed publication in any country more than one year before the date of the actual filing of the application in this country, or which had been in public use or on sale in this country more than one year prior to such filing.

(b)

(1) No application for patent shall be entitled to this right of priority unless a claim is filed in the Patent and Trademark Office, identifying the foreign application by specifying the application number on that foreign application, the intellectual property authority or country in or for which the application was filed, and the date of filing the application, at such time during the pendency of the application as required by the Director.
...

**MPEP 201.13

...
(B) The foreign application must have been filed by the same applicant (inventor) as the applicant in the United States, or by his or her legal representatives or assigns.
...

Copyright © 2007