35 U.S.C. § 115 — Inventor’s oath or declaration

(a) Naming the Inventor; Inventor's Oath or Declaration — A patent application filed under section 111(a), or that begins the "national stage" under section 371, must name every inventor of the claimed invention (or be amended to add the name). Except where this section says otherwise, each inventor — or each joint inventor — must sign an oath or declaration for the application. (b) Required Statements — That oath or declaration must say: (1) the application was made, or authorized to be made, by the person signing it; and (2) that person believes they are the sole inventor, or one of the joint inventors, of a claimed invention in the application. (c) Additional Requirements — The Director of the Patent Office may require the oath or declaration to include more information about the inventor and the invention. (d) Substitute Statement — (1) In general — Instead of an oath or declaration, the applicant may sometimes file a "substitute statement" — in the situations listed in paragraph (2), or others the Director sets by regulation. (2) Permitted circumstances — A substitute statement is allowed for an inventor who: (A) can't sign because they (i) have died; (ii) are legally incapacitated; or (iii) can't be found or reached after a real effort to find them; or (B) is required to assign the invention to someone else but refuses to sign the oath. (3) Contents — The substitute statement must: (A) name the inventor it's about; (B) explain which of the allowed circumstances applies; and (C) include any other information or proof the Director requires. (e) Making Required Statements in Assignment of Record — If an inventor has to assign the application to someone else, that inventor can put the required statements from (b) and (c) right into the assignment document, instead of filing them separately. (f) Time for Filing — The applicant must file the oath, declaration, substitute statement, or a qualifying assignment no later than the day the issue fee is paid. (g) Earlier-Filed Application Containing Required Statements or Substitute Statement — (1) Exception — If the application claims the benefit of an earlier-filed application (under sections 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c)), the inventor doesn't need to file a new oath, declaration, or substitute statement here, as long as one of these was already filed with the earlier application: (A) a valid oath or declaration; (B) a valid substitute statement; or (C) a valid, recorded assignment containing the required statements. (2) Copies — Even so, the Director may require a copy of that earlier oath, declaration, statement, or assignment to be included in the new application. (h) Supplemental and Corrected Statements; Filing Additional Statements — (1) In general — Anyone who filed a required statement may withdraw, replace, or correct it at any time. If the named inventors change, the Director will set rules for filing any extra statements needed. (2) Supplemental statements not required — Once an inventor has properly filed an oath, declaration, or qualifying assignment, the Director cannot make that inventor file any more such statements for that application or any patent that comes from it. (3) Savings clause — A patent isn't invalid or unenforceable just because of a missed requirement under this section, as long as the problem gets fixed under paragraph (1). (i) Acknowledgment of Penalties — Every declaration or statement filed under this section must include an acknowledgment that knowingly making a false statement in it is a crime under 18 U.S.C. § 1001, punishable by a fine, up to 5 years in prison, or both.