Eddy W. Eckey v. Robert C. Watson, Commissioner of Patents

The question here is whether the Commissioner of Patents has the authority to extend the sixty-day period, fixed by Rule 304 of the Rules of Practice of the Patent Office, 37 C.F.R. § 1.304 (Supp. 1959), 35 U.S.C.Appendix, 1 for the filing of suits in the District Court under Section 145 of Title 35, U.S.Code. Rule 304 was adopted pursuant to Section 145, which authorizes the Commissioner to “appoint” the time within which suits under that section may be brought. 2

Plaintiff-appellant’s complaint under Section 145 was filed in the District Court one day late, i. e., on the sixty-first day…