Don’t try to hide, or keep anything back for should the patent be granted to you under these conditions it will be without value if it should ever figure in a suit. If you are not willing to make every detail known it is better not to apply for a patent at all.
Fig. 79. SPECIFICATION OF ONE OF MR. COLLINS’ PATENTS
Fig. 80. THE CLAIMS OF THE SAME PATENT
The claims, a few of which shown in Fig. 80, are the all important part of every patent and these must be clearly, cleverly and carefully worded so that if you ever have to fight an infringer in court your claims will be found to cover exactly the details of your invention and this will make it harder for the other fellow’s expert to misconstrue them.
The oath. When you apply for a patent you must affirm, or make oath that you believe yourself to be the “first and original inventor or discoverer of the art, machine, manufacture, composition or improvement” for which you ask a patent. A form of oath to accompany a patent application is as follows:
............ ............}
............ ............}ss:
........ ........, the above-named petitioner..., being sworn (or affirmed), depose ... and says ... that .......... citizen ... of ....... and resident ... of ......, that .... verily believe ...... ....... to be the original, first and ...... inventor ... of the improvement in .......... described and claimed in the annexed specification; that ........ do ... not know and do ... not believe that the same was ever known or used before ..... invention or discovery thereof, or patented or described in any printed publication in any country before ...... invention or discovery thereof, or more than two years prior to this application, or in public use or on sale in the United States for more than two years prior to this application; that said invention has not been patented in any country foreign to the United States on an application filed by ........ or ...... legal representatives or assigns more than twelve months prior to this application; and that no application for patent on said improvement has been filed by ...... or ...... representatives or assigns in any country foreign to the United States, except as follows: ...........