On May 5-6, 2016, Practicing Law Institute (PLI) will be conducting its 10th Annual Patent Law Institute. The Institute will be held in San Francisco and also will be broadcast life via webcast. Registration is available at the following link. According to PLI, The Institute is designed to be of ultimate practice value to all
10th Annual Patent Law Institute CLE Program From PLI Read More »
A Dallas appeals court has upheld a trial court’s ruling in favor of Baker Botts, L.L.P. on its former client’s claim for patent malpractice based on the firm’s simultaneous representation of two clients in the same technical field. See Axcess International, Inc. v. Baker Botts, L.L.P., No. 05-14-01151-CV (Tex. App.–Dallas Mar. 24, 2016) (mem. op.)
Texas Court Upholds Baker Botts Patent Malpractice Win Read More »
A patent attorney who was excluded from the USPTO has appealed to the Federal Circuit. By way of background, on July 15, 2015, the USPTO Director entered an order excluding Richard Polidi from practice before the Office. The USPTO Director’s disciplinary action came after the Director of the Office of Enrollment and Discipline (OED) filed
Excluded Patent Attorney Appeals To Federal Circuit Read More »
The Federal Circuit’s 2-1 decision yesterday in In re Queen’s University at Kingston resolved a split in the district courts over whether a “patent agent”-client privilege exists independent from the attorney-client privilege. The majority held it does. While the court’s holding provides clarification in this case of first impression, patent agents, their law firm employers,
Narrow Scope of “Patent Agent Privilege” Creates Ethical Traps for the Unwary Read More »
In patent litigation, one of the first orders of business is entry of a protective order protecting the participant’s confidential information. While protective orders come in all shapes and sizes, such orders uniformly prohibit a receiving party from disclosing a producing party’s confidential information except to a limited universe of defined individuals. In addition, a
The Wolf: “Just because you are a character doesn’t mean that you have character.” – Pulp Fiction So you say you want to become registered to practice before the USPTO? You possess all the requisite technical skills. You did well in law school. You recently passed the Patent Bar Exam with flying colors. Congratulations. So
Mission Impassable: Moral Character Can Block Applicants From USPTO Bar Membership Read More »
It is not necessarily an easy feat for a suspended lawyer to become readmitted to the Bar. Some jurisdictions prohibit a suspended lawyer from even entering into a law firm. In other jurisdictions, a suspended lawyer may work as a paralegal subject to numerous restrictions and conditions. For lawyers who have practiced for many
The OED Redemption: Director Expediting Petitions To Reinstate Suspended Practitioners Read More »
At first glance, the USPTO’s most recently published disciplinary decision seems relatively bland and altogether innocuous. The case of In re Juliet M. Oberding, Proceeding No. D2016-06 (USPTO Dir. Feb. 12, 2016) involves a California-based trademark attorney who told a client on several occasions, over the course of roughly 18 months, that the client’s trademark
