The only time a patent attorney or agent ever wants to hear from the USPTO’s Office of Enrollment and Discipline is when they are admitted to the Patent Bar and issued a registration number. Other than that, no news is good news. So if an envelope arrives from the OED (certified mail, return receipt requested),
You Just Received An OED Bar Grievance. Now What? Read More »
On January 25, 2017, the Federal Circuit ruled a district court did not abuse its discretion when it awarded the prevailing party’s attorneys’ fees under 35 U.S.C. § 285 based upon the losing party’s conduct with respect to responding to one particular issue in discovery. In National Oilwell Varco, L.P. v. Omron Oilfield & Marine,
It says a lot when the busiest patent judge in the United States calls a patent lawsuit “the clearest example of an exceptional case” he has ever seen. That is precisely what happened earlier this week, when Judge Rodney Gilstrap of the Eastern District of Texas, who personally handles one-quarter of all patent cases filed
Plaintiff Gets Judicial Scolding: “If This Case Is Not Exceptional, Then There Are None” Read More »
A recent patent malpractice action filed in federal court in New York against an IP firm raises once again the issue of subject matter conflicts between concurrent clients in prosecuting patent applications in a similar field of technology. The issue of subject matter conflicts in concurrent patent representation continues to be an area of significant
The Federal Circuit on Friday affirmed a district court’s order imposing sanctions against a Colorado patent attorney and his patentee client for vexatious litigation. Doubling down, the Federal Circuit imposed its own sanctions for what it says was a frivolous appeal. See Walker v. Health International Corp., No. 15-1676 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 6, 2017). The CAFC’s ruling opens the
CAFC Sanctions Patent Atty For Frivolous Appeal; Is USPTO Discipline Next? Read More »
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, since it is the New Year I thought it would be helpful to remind you all, again, of what is in my opinion the First Commandment of Ethics: Thou Shalt Communicate With Thy Clients. Seriously. Clients do not like to be ignored by their attorneys. This
Failure To Communicate No. 1 Cause Of USPTO Attorney Discipline Read More »
“What we’ve got here is failure to communicate.” Cool Hand Luke A law school professor once told me the easiest question to grade on an exam is the one where the student fails to provide any answer at all. So too is the case for the IP practitioner who chooses to ignore a USPTO ethics
The Danger Of Failing To Cooperate In A USPTO Ethics Investigation Read More »
I have lived and worked in the Washington, D.C. metro area my entire adult life. Washington is notorious for its traffic. The math for my office commute is simple. Ten hours per week. 500 hours per year. For 30 years. That’s 15,000 hours–or 1.71 years of my life–just going to and from the office. I
Is Working From Home Unethical? Telecommuting And Unauthorized Practice Of Law Read More »
