Patent Ethics

OED Announces Delay of Practitioner CLE Certification & Biennial Registration

Patent Ethics / By

On December 16, 2021, the USPTO will officially announce a delay in the implementation of the voluntary CLE certification program for registered practitioners, and those granted limited recognition. This follows a delay in the biennial registration statement, which will be implemented on November 1, 2024.  As these two submissions would work in concert, we understand […]

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USPTO Delays Patent Practitioner Registration Statements and CLE Certifications Until 2024

Patent Agent, Patent Ethics, USPTO OED / By

On June 10, 2021, the USPTO’s Office of Enrollment and Discipline will announce its intention  to delay by two years its previously-published requirement for biennial mandatory “registration statements” from all registered patent attorneys and agents. The USPTO’s announcement has no impact on trademark attorneys.  Last year, the USPTO published a final rule stating that the

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USPTO Confirms Agency “Practitioners” May Ethically Partner With Foreign Attorneys

IP Ethics, Multijurisdictional Practice, Patent Ethics / By

On May 26, 2021, the USPTO clarified its position that U.S. “practitioners”—who, by definition, include only United States-barred attorneys and USPTO registered patent attorneys and agents—may form partnerships and co-own law firms with non-U.S. attorneys without violating the USPTO’s Rules of Professional Conduct.  The USPTO guidance was included in the agency’s Final Rulemaking, the purpose

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Supreme Court

Inequitable Conduct: The Accusation That Could Change Your Life

Patent Ethics / By

Patent practitioners are keenly aware that inequitable conduct allegations are commonplace in patent litigation.  A finding of inequitable conduct has numerous adverse consequences for patent owners, including the possible loss of patent rights, exposure to antitrust claims, and an award of an accused infringer’s attorneys’ fees.  Because the impact of an inequitable conduct finding is

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Mixing Inventor And Patent Prosecutor Intent To Deceive: CleanTech Muddies Inequitable Conduct Law

Duty of Candor, Inequitable Conduct, IP Ethics, Patent Ethics / By

Inequitable conduct is supposed to be personal to each individual who owes a duty of disclosure to the USPTO. Thus, just because an inventor may have knowingly and intentionally lied to the USPTO does not mean that prosecution counsel did so as well. Indeed, most prosecutors are in a position where they must rely upon

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USPTO Requires Patent Bar Applicants To Disclose Expunged Or Diverted Criminal Records

Patent Ethics / By

While in college, Joe Varsity is arrested for public intoxication. Joe pleads no contest, and the charge is dismissed after he completes an alcohol education class. Joe’s conviction is later expunged (or erased). Under the laws where Joe’s arrest occurred, “any person who shall have been the subject of such an erasure shall be deemed

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