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Title 35 — PatentsRelease 119-73

§251 Reissue of defective patents

Title 35 › Part PART III— - PATENTS AND PROTECTION OF PATENT RIGHTS › Chapter CHAPTER 25— - AMENDMENT AND CORRECTION OF PATENTS › § 251

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

If a patent turns out to be partly or wholly useless because of a bad description, drawing, or because the owner claimed more or less than they should, the patent owner can give up the old patent, pay the required fee, and the Director must issue a corrected patent. The new patent covers the same invention for the rest of the original patent term. No new information can be added. The owner can also ask for separate reissued patents for different parts, paying a fee for each. The same rules for regular patent applications apply to reissue requests. A person who owns the whole patent can file and swear to the reissue application if they are not trying to broaden the claims, or if they filed the original application. Any request that would make the claims broader must be filed within two years of the original patent grant.

Full Legal Text

Title 35, §251

Patents — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Whenever any patent is, through error, deemed wholly or partly inoperative or invalid, by reason of a defective specification or drawing, or by reason of the patentee claiming more or less than he had a right to claim in the patent, the Director shall, on the surrender of such patent and the payment of the fee required by law, reissue the patent for the invention disclosed in the original patent, and in accordance with a new and amended application, for the unexpired part of the term of the original patent. No new matter shall be introduced into the application for reissue.
(b)The Director may issue several reissued patents for distinct and separate parts of the thing patented, upon demand of the applicant, and upon payment of the required fee for a reissue for each of such reissued patents.
(c)The provisions of this title relating to applications for patent shall be applicable to applications for reissue of a patent, except that application for reissue may be made and sworn to by the assignee of the entire interest if the application does not seek to enlarge the scope of the claims of the original patent or the application for the original patent was filed by the assignee of the entire interest.
(d)No reissued patent shall be granted enlarging the scope of the claims of the original patent unless applied for within two years from the grant of the original patent.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Based on Title 35, U.S.C., 1946 ed., § 64 (R.S. 4916, amended May 24, 1928, ch. 730, 45 Stat. 732.) The sentences of the corresponding section of existing statute are rearranged and divided into two sections with some changes in language. The clause at the end of the present statute is omitted as obsolete. The third paragraph incorporates by reference the requirements of other applications, and adds a new provision relating to application for reissue being made in certain cases by the assignee. A two year period of limitation on applying for broadened reissues is added, codifying the present rule of decision with a fixed period.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2011—Pub. L. 112–29, § 20(d), designated first to fourth pars. as subsecs. (a) to (d), respectively, inserted headings, and, in subsec. (a), struck out “without any deceptive intention” after “error”. Pub. L. 112–29, § 4(b)(2), in third par., inserted “or the application for the original patent was filed by the assignee of the entire interest” after “claims of the original patent”. 2002—Pub. L. 107–273 made technical correction to directory language of Pub. L. 106–113. See 1999 Amendment note below. 1999—Pub. L. 106–113, as amended by Pub. L. 107–273, substituted “Director” for “Commissioner” in first and second pars.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2011 AmendmentAmendment by section 4(b)(2) of Pub. L. 112–29 effective upon the expiration of the 1-year period beginning on Sept. 16, 2011, and applicable to any patent application that is filed on or after that

Effective Date

, see section 4(e) of Pub. L. 112–29, set out as a note under section 111 of this title. Amendment by section 20(d) of Pub. L. 112–29 effective upon the expiration of the 1-year period beginning on Sept. 16, 2011, and applicable to proceedings commenced on or after that

Effective Date

, see section 20(l) of Pub. L. 112–29, set out as a note under section 2 of this title.

Effective Date

of 1999 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 106–113 effective 4 months after Nov. 29, 1999, see section 1000(a)(9) [title IV, § 4731] of Pub. L. 106–113, set out as a note under section 1 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

35 U.S.C. § 251

Title 35 — Patents

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73