Interference No. 104,192
Cragg v. Martin v. Fogarty
requirement for preliminary statements until an amendment was
made to 37 CFR § 1.622 in 1984 when Title 35, United States
Code, was amended to provide that not every named inventor has
to have made a contribution to every claim in a patent
application. In pertinent part, 35 U.S.C. § 116 now states:
§ 116 Inventors
When an invention is made by two or more persons
jointly, they shall apply for patent jointly and
each make the required oath, except as otherwise
provided in this title. Inventors may apply for a
patent jointly even though (1) they did not
physically work together or at the same time, (2)
each did not make the same type or amount of
contribution, or (3) each did not make a
contribution to the subject matter of every claim of
the patent.
Thus, when an application is filed which names multiple
inventors, it is not known which inventor(s) contributed to
the subject matter of which claims, or to the count in an
interference, even though that information may be relevant to
the requirements for accordance of benefit in an interference.
Rule 1.622, as amended in 1984, partially addresses that
problem by requiring in a preliminary statement identification
of the inventors of the subject matter of the count. It
reads, in pertinent part:
(a) A party’s preliminary statement must
identify the inventor who made the invention defined
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