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1216.02 Civil Suits Under 35 U.S.C. - 1200 Appeal
1216.02 Civil Suits Under 35 U.S.C.
A 35 U.S.C. 145 civil action is commenced by filing a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia within the time specified in 37 CFR 1.304 (see MPEP § 1216). Furthermore, copies of the complaint and summons must be served in a timely manner on the Solicitor, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, and the Attorney General in the manner set forth in Rule 4(i) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Regarding timely service, see Walsdorf v. Comm'r, 229 USPQ 559 (D.D.C. 1986) and Hodge v. Rostker, 501 F. Supp. 332 (D.D.C. 1980). When a 35 U.S.C. 145 civil action is filed, a notice thereof is placed in the application or reexamination file, which ordinarily will be kept in the Solicitor's Office pending termination of the civil action.
In an action under 35 U.S.C. 145, the plaintiff may introduce evidence not previously presented to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. However, plaintiff will be precluded from presenting new issues, at least in the absence of some reason of justice put forward for failure to present the issue to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. DeSeversky v. Brenner, 424 F.2d 857, 858, 164 USPQ 495, 496 (D.C. Cir. 1970); MacKay v. Quigg, 641 F. Supp. 567, 570, 231 USPQ 907, 908 (D.D.C. 1986). Furthermore, new evidence is not admissible in district court where it was available to the parties but was withheld from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a result of fraud, bad faith, or gross negligence. DeSeversky, 424 F.2d at 858 n.5, 164 USPQ at 496 n.5; California Research Corp. v. Ladd, 356 F.2d 813, 821 n.18, 148 USPQ 404, 473 n.18 (D.C. Cir. 1966); MacKay, 641 F. Supp. at 570, 231 USPQ at 908; Monsanto Company v. Kamp, 269 F. Supp. 818, 822, 154 USPQ 259, 260 (D.D.C. 1967); Killian v. Watson, 121 USPQ 507, 507 (D.D.C. 1958).
Upon termination of the civil action, a statement of the court's final disposition of the case is placed in the application or reexamination file, which is then returned to the examiner for action in accordance with the same procedures as follow termination of a 35 U.S.C. 141 appeal. See MPEP § 1216.01. 37 CFR 1.197(c) provides that a civil action is terminated when the time to appeal the judgment expires. Where the exact date when the civil action was terminated is material, the date may be ascertained from the Solicitor's Office.
The procedures to be followed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office after a decision, remand, or dismissal of the case by the district court are the same as the procedures followed with respect to 35 U.S.C. 141 appeals. See MPEP § 1216.01.
Where a civil action involving an application has been dismissed before coming to trial, the application will not be opened to the public unless it is otherwise available to the public under 37 CFR 1.11. However, the complaint and any other court papers not under a protective order are open to the public and may be inspected at the Office of the Clerk for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, located in the U.S. Courthouse, 333 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20001. The court papers in the Office of the Solicitor are not generally made available for public inspection.
Any subpoena by the district court for an application or reexamination file should be hand-carried to the Office of the Solicitor.
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