Charles B. Swain and Albert G. Schuessler v. Bob C. Crittendon

SMITH, Judge.

This appeal by Swain et al. from an award of priority to Crittendon raises the single issue of whether Crittendon is entitled under 35 U.S.C. § 120 to rely upon the filing date of a parent application as establishing priority of inven tion. Resolution of this issue requires 1) a determination of whether the parent application contains in fact a disclosure of the subject matter of the counts, and 2) if so, a further determination of whether such disclosure is legally sufficient to support an award of priority.

Some historical background is required in order to understand the issue…