An ethics blog for IP attorneys
IP Litigators Beware: Bad News May Be Hazardous To Your Law License (Part 2 of 2)
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 […]
Read MoreIP Litigators Beware: Bad News May Be Hazardous To Your Law License (Part 1 of 2)
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 […]
Read MoreIs OED’s Indefinite Delay In “Reviewing” Reinstatement Applications Constitutional?
An attorney’s suspension from the practice of law is not unlike a jail sentence. Not literally, of course. The suspended attorney is free to do anything they otherwise could do when they were not suspended, with the exception of practicing law. Many practitioners believe that once their suspension period has run its course, the practitioner is “released,” the suspension is automatically lifted, and […]
Read MoreState Bar Discipline Can Be Hazardous To IP Attorneys’ Right To Practice Before The USPTO (Part 2 of 2)
This is the second of a two-part series on reciprocal discipline in the USPTO. To read the first part click here. Once the notice requirements set forth in Sections 11.24(a) and (b) have been satisfied, Section 11.24(d) dictates the manner in which the disciplinary hearing shall proceed. In accordance with Section 11.24(d), “the USPTO Director shall […]
Read MoreDelaware Court Disqualifies Patent Lit. Counsel For Conflict Of Interest
On May 15, 2015, the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware granted a defense motion disqualifying plaintiff’s counsel in a patent infringement action due to a former client conflict of interest. Innovative Memory Solutions, Inc. v. Micron Tech., Inc., No. 14-1480-RGA (D. Del. May 15, 2015) (order here). Innovative Memory Solutions, Inc. (“IMS”) […]
Read MoreState Bar Discipline Can Be Hazardous To IP Attorneys’ Right To Practice Before The USPTO (Part 1 of 2)
Consider the following – a patent attorney is investigated and charged by her state bar for violating the state’s code of ethics. The patent attorney believes her state law license is not particularly relevant or necessary because 100% of her practice is dedicated to patent prosecution. Therefore, to make the state bar matter “go away” with […]
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