by the United States government

“ L. 97-247 substituted “is” for “shall be” after “whose authority”, and inserted “, or apostille of an official designated by a foreign country which, by treaty or convention, accords like effect to apostilles of designated officials in the United States”. ”

“ The applicant shall make oath that he believes himself to be the original and first inventor of the process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or improvement thereof, for which he solicits a patent ”

“ The expression at the end of the second sentence is added to avoid application of the District of Columbia law to oaths taken outside the District.
Changes in language are made.
Amendments 1998 Pub. L. 105-277 inserted at end “For purposes of this section, a consular officer shall include any United States citizen serving overseas, authorized to perform notarial functions pursuant to section 1750 of the Revised Statutes, as amended (22 U.S.C. 4221) .” ”