The Commissioner of the USPTO may (pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 254) issue a certificate of correction to correct a mistake in a patent that occurred as a result of a fault by the Office. Here, the mistake must be clearly disclosed in the records of the Office and can be done: (1) at the request of the patentee or the patentee's assignee, (2) acting sua sponte for mistakes that the Office discovers, and (3) acting on information about a mistake supplied by a third party.

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