The Director of the United States
Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has the authority to establish
regulations governing the conduct and discipline of agents,
attorneys, or other persons representing applicants and other
parties before the USPTO (35 U.S.C. §§ 2 and 32-33). The current
USPTO Code of Professional Responsibility (37 CFR 10.20-10.112)
describes how practitioners should conduct themselves
professionally and outlines their responsibilities for
recordkeeping and reporting violations or complaints of misconduct
to the USPTO, while current procedural rules governing disciplinary
investigations and proceedings (37 CFR 11.19-11.61) dictate how the
USPTO can discipline practitioners. The Recordkeeping and
Disclosure rules require that registered practitioners and
attorneys who appear before the Office maintain complete records of
clients, including all funds, securities and other properties of
clients coming into his/her possession, and render appropriate
accounts to the client regarding such records, as well as report
violations of the rules to the Office. Practitioners are mandated
by the rules to maintain proper documentation so that they can
fully cooperate with an investigation in the event of a report of
an alleged violation and that violations are prosecuted as
appropriate. The Office has determined that the recordkeeping and
maintenance of such records are excluded from any associated PRA
burden as these activities are usual and customary for
practitioners representing clients (5 CFR 1320.3(b)(2)).
Additionally, in the case of most attorney practitioners, any
requirements for collection of information are not presumed to
impose a Federal burden as these requirements are also required by
a unit of State or local government, namely State bar(s), and would
be required even in the absence of any Federal requirement (5 CFR
1320.3(b)(3)). These rules also require, in certain instances, that
written consents or certifications be provided. Such consents or
certifications have been determined not to constitute information
under 5 CFR 1320.3(h)(1). The USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct
require an attorney or agent to report knowledge of certain
violations of the USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct to the USPTO.
If the complaint is found to have merit, the USPTO will investigate
and possibly prosecute violations of the Rules and provide the
practitioner with the opportunity to respond to the complaint. The
Director of the Office of Enrollment and Discipline (OED) may,
after notice and opportunity for a hearing, suspend, exclude, or
disqualify any practitioner from further practice before the USPTO
based on noncompliance with the regulations. Practitioners who have
been excluded or suspended from practice before the USPTO must keep
and maintain records of their steps to comply with the suspension
or exclusion order. These records serve as the practitioner’s proof
of compliance with the order. If this information is not collected,
the Director of OED would have no knowledge of alleged violations
and would be unable to enforce the provisions of the
Rules.
US Code:
35 USC
32 Name of Law: null
US Code: 35 USC
2 Name of Law: null
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
USPTO Information Quality Guidelines.pdf
0017 Supporting Statement Feb 2019 Final DH.docx
Record Keeping Maintenance and Disclosure (inc: advertisements, disclosure requirements relating to soliciting professional employment and notifications by non-attorney Practitioner of inadvertently s