USPTO OED

Mission Impassable: Moral Character Can Block Applicants From USPTO Bar Membership

Office of Enrollment and Discipline, Patent Ethics, USPTO OED / By

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 »

IP Attorney Challenging Constitutionality Of USPTO OED’s “Abusive” Ethics Investigation

OED, Office of Enrollment and Discipline, USPTO Ethics Investigation, USPTO OED / By

An IP attorney has filed a lawsuit against the United States Patent and Trademark Office seeking to prohibit the Agency’s Office of Enrollment and Discipline (OED) from continuing to investigate him for alleged ethics violations because the process employed in conducting the ethics investigation is abusive and violates due process. The complaint, which was filed

IP Attorney Challenging Constitutionality Of USPTO OED’s “Abusive” Ethics Investigation Read More »

USPTO Suspends Attorney For Six Months For Derogatory Patent Filings

Civility/Professionalism, Patent Ethics, Suspension, USPTO OED / By

This week at “Back to School Night,” I read with great interest some words of wisdom posted on the wall as part of a set of class “Rules.” The children agreed to three general principles of self-governance: Be nice to others. Don’t use bad words. Be respectful. Lawyers also have their own rules of self-governance, codified

USPTO Suspends Attorney For Six Months For Derogatory Patent Filings Read More »

Bar Counsel Imposes Discipline For “Personal” Misconduct & Legal But Unethical Behavior

Patent Ethics, PTO Ethics Decisions, PTO Ethics Rules, USPTO Director Decisions, USPTO OED / By

Many members of the public, and some attorneys themselves, believe that if they do not lie, they do not steal, and they do not cheat, then their conduct necessarily complies with the Rules of Professional Conduct.  This is a false assumption.  Others believe that an attorney’s “transgressions” in her personal life will not affect her

Bar Counsel Imposes Discipline For “Personal” Misconduct & Legal But Unethical Behavior Read More »

OED Discipline For IP Practitioners Who Use “Snitch” Threats For Tactical Gain

ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, Duty to Report Misconduct, IP Ethics, OED, Office of Enrollment and Discipline, PTO Ethics Rules, USPTO OED / By

  “You’re building a rat ship here. A vessel for seagoing snitches” – Al Pacino, Scent of a Woman You represent a patentee in a highly contentious litigation against an accused infringer.  The parties hate each other, and the gloves came off months ago–if they were ever on in the first place. Then extraordinarily you

OED Discipline For IP Practitioners Who Use “Snitch” Threats For Tactical Gain Read More »

OED Asserts Allowing Someone Else To Type In Your S-Signature On USPTO Documents Is Unethical

IP Ethics, Office of Enrollment and Discipline, Patent Attorney Disciplinary Matters, USPTO OED / By

A lawyer’s signature on a document filed in the USPTO represents that, to the best of the signor’s knowledge, formed after a reasonable inquiry,  the paper is not being presented for an improper purpose; the claims and other legal contentions are warranted by law; the allegations of fact have evidentiary support; and the denials of

OED Asserts Allowing Someone Else To Type In Your S-Signature On USPTO Documents Is Unethical Read More »

IP Litigators Beware: Bad News May Be Hazardous To Your Law License (Part 2 of 2)

IP Litigation Sanctions, Patent Ethics, Patent Litigation Ethics, Trademark Ethics, USPTO OED / By

Bad news on the doorstep.  I couldn’t take one more step.  Don McLean – American Pie In the last year, many “bad news” articles have been published arising from IP litigation. Not surprisingly, a growing number of those articles have been based on exceptional case findings and awards of attorneys’ fees under the Octane Fitness

IP Litigators Beware: Bad News May Be Hazardous To Your Law License (Part 2 of 2) Read More »

IP Litigators Beware: Bad News May Be Hazardous To Your Law License (Part 1 of 2)

IP Litigation Sanctions, Patent Litigation Ethics, USPTO OED / By

Many years ago, before Al Gore invented the internet and teenagers rode their bicycles before dawn, their palms black with ink, to deliver “the paper,” science fiction novelist Douglas Adams observed, “Nothing travels faster than the speed of light with the possible exception of bad news, which obeys its own special laws.”  Truer words today could not be

IP Litigators Beware: Bad News May Be Hazardous To Your Law License (Part 1 of 2) Read More »

Scroll to Top