Admission to Practice Before the U.S.P.T.O. in Patent Cases

Abstract:     
The Agency Practice Act, 5 U.S.C. § 500(b), provides that any lawyer in good standing in a state bar may practice before any federal agency. Sec. 500(e), however, provides that the Patent and Trademark Office may impose additional requirements upon those who prosecute patent applications.

The accompanying file contains: (1) my petition to the PTO that requests notice and comment rulemaking to address specific technical qualifications attorneys need to sit for the so-called patent bar, (2) a declaration pointing out that current criteria for admission of lawyers holding computer science degrees are irrational, and (3) the PTO response denying the petition. Building on these documents and prior related research, I intend to prepare an artice for publication.

Keywords: patent attorney, agency practice act, patent bar, rulemaking petition, law and technology, law and science

JEL Classifications: K23

Working Paper Series