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602.04(a) Foreign Executed Oath Is Ribboned to Other Application Papers - 600 Parts, Form, and Content of Application
602.04(a) Foreign Executed Oath Is Ribboned to Other Application Papers
37 CFR 1.66 Officers authorized to administer oaths.
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(b) When the oath is taken before an officer in a country foreign to the United States, any accompanying application papers, except the drawings, must be attached together with the oath and a ribbon passed one or more times through all the sheets of the application, except the drawings, and the ends of said ribbon brought together under the seal before the latter is affixed and impressed, or each sheet must be impressed with the official seal of the officer before whom the oath is taken. If the papers as filed are not properly ribboned or each sheet impressed with the seal, the case will be accepted for examination, but before it is allowed, duplicate papers, prepared in compliance with the foregoing sentence, must be filed.
Where the papers are not properly ribboned, use form paragraphs 6.05 (reproduced in MPEP § 602.03) and 6.05.14.
¶ 6.05.14 No Ribbon Properly Attached
It does not have a ribbon properly attached.
Examiner Note
This paragraph applies only to foreign executed oaths and must be preceded by form paragraph 6.05.
U.S. ACCESSION TO HAGUE CONVENTION ABOLISHING THE REQUIREMENT OF LEGALIZATION FOR FOREIGN PUBLIC DOCUMENTS
On Oct. 15, 1981, the Hague "Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents" entered into force between the United States and 28 foreign countries as parties to the Convention. Subsequently, additional countries have become parties to the Convention. The Convention applies to any document submitted to the United States Patent and Trademark Office for filing or recording, which is sworn to or acknowledged by a notary public in any one of the member countries. The Convention abolishes the certification of the authority of the notary public in a member country by a diplomatic or consular officer of the United States and substitutes certification by a special certificate, or apostille, executed by an officer of the member country. Accordingly, the Office will accept for filing or recording a document sworn to or acknowledged before a notary public in a member country if the document bears, or has appended to it, an apostille certifying the notary's authority. The requirement for a diplomatic or consular certificate, specified in 37 CFR 1.66, will not apply to a document sworn to or acknowledged before a notary public in a member country if an apostille is used.
The member countries that are parties to the Convention are:
Andorra, Angola1, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia2, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus2, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, Bosnia-Herzegovina3, Botswana, British Antarctic Territory, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Cayman Islands, Comoros Islands (formerly Moroni)1, Croatia3, Cyprus, Djibouti (formerly Affars and Issas)1, Dominica1, El Salvador, Falkland Islands, Fiji, Finland, France, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Guadeloupe, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Grenada1, Guernsey (Bailiwick of), Hong Kong, Hungary, Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jersey (Bailiwick of), Kiribati (formerly Gilbert Islands)1, Latvia, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macedonia3, Malawi, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritius, Mexico, Montserrat, Mozambique1, Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles (Curacao, Bonaire, St. Martin, St. Eustatius and Saba), New Caledonia, Norway, Panama, Portugal, Reunion, Russian Federation2, St. Christopher (Kitts) and Nevis, St. Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, St. Helena, St. Lucia, St. Pierre and Miquelon, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Seychelles, Slovenia3, Solomon Islands (formerly British Solomon Islands)1, South Africa, Spain, Suriname, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tonga, Turkey, Turks and Caicos, Tuvalu (formerly Ellice Islands)1, United Kingdom, United States, Vanuatu (formerly New Hebrides)1, Wallis and Futuna.
This country achieved independence. No declaration has been made on the continuation in force of the Convention.
On September 4, 1991, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) deposited an instrument of accession to the Convention. The Convention was to have entered into force for the USSR on April 1, 1992. Prior to that date, the USSR dissolved. Three members of the Newly Independent States (NIS), the Russian Federation, the Belarus Republic and Armenia have informed the depositary for the Convention that the Convention applies in those jurisdiction. It is not clear whether other NIS countries are applying the Convention. Even if other NIS countries were to consider the Convention to apply, it may not be operational. Each jurisdiction must designate an authority competent to issue the Convention certificate (apostille) before the Convention can be operational.
Former Yugoslavia was a party to the Convention. Slovenia, Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia have informed the depositary that they consider the Convention to apply and have designated a competent authority to issue the Convention certificate (apostille).
The Convention prescribes the following form for the apostille:
Model of Certificate
The certificate will be in the form of a square with sides at least 9 centimeters long.
Note that a declaration in lieu of application oath ( 37 CFR 1.68) need not be ribboned to the other papers. It must, however, be maintained together therewith.