Some Files in Chip Patent Case Missing

Gilbert P. Hyatt battled the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for 20 years and built up a case history of more than 10,000 pages before the agency finally gave him a patent in July for inventing the computer on a chip.

And now they’ve lost part of his patent application file.

Gil Weidenfeld, director of public affairs for the patent office, said Thursday that the office is searching for three thick files containing hundreds of pages related to the processing of Hyatt’s seven applications for a patent on the computer on a chip, or microprocessor, which made possible a wide range of electronic gadgets from personal computers to VCRs.

The patent office has a case history accompanying the application that led to the patent issuance, but the missing files contain information from previous related applications which would be needed in case Hyatt’s patent is challenged in court, Weidenfeld said.

Among the missing files is Hyatt’s original application, Serial No. 101,881, filed on Dec. 28, 1970.

“There’s no serious damage at all,” said Hyatt, who has kept a complete copy of the litigation. “It adds a little to the romance of the situation.”

For several weeks, the agency has been conducting an office-by-office search for the files, which have been missing for two months, Weidenfeld said. The files could be in the main record room or in one of several warehouses that the patent office maintains, he said.

“It’s not at all unusual for the patent office to lose files from time to time, especially those for cases that have been at the patent office for many years,” said Gary Hecker, a patent lawyer with Hecker & Harriman in Los Angeles. “My guess is it will make it troublesome for people who want to evaluate the patent’s validity.”

Michael Ladra, a patent attorney with the firm Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati in Palo Alto, said he has been attempting to get the entire file for several weeks without success. Ladra represents computer company clients who are interested in the case.

“This couldn’t hurt Hyatt because, under law, anything missing is presumed to go in his favor,” Ladra said. “It’s not good news for anyone who wants to challenge the patent.”

So far, the patent office has received 30 written requests for the complete file history, Weidenfeld said. Patent search service firms also report a backlog of orders for the case.

Weidenfeld said the patent office can sometimes reconstruct the files or parts of them from microfilm records or those kept by the parties in the litigation.

“It would take a lot of effort,” he said.