The Director of the 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 USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct (Rules), set forth
in subpart D, part 11 of title 37 of the Code of Federal
Regulations, prescribe the manner in which agents, attorneys, and
other persons (collectively, ‘‘practitioners’’) representing
applicants and other parties before the USPTO should conduct
themselves professionally. Part 11 outlines practitioners’
responsibilities for recordkeeping and reporting violations or
complaints of misconduct to the USPTO. Subpart C of part 11 sets
forth the manner by which the USPTO investigates misconduct and
imposes discipline. The USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct require
all practitioners to maintain complete records of all funds,
securities, and other properties of clients coming into his or her
possession, and to render appropriate accounts to the client
regarding the funds, securities, and other properties of clients
coming into the practitioner’s possession, collectively known as
‘‘client property.’’ These recordkeeping requirements are necessary
to maintain the integrity of client property. State bars require
attorneys to perform similar recordkeeping. Part 11 also requires a
practitioner to report knowledge of certain violations of the USPTO
Rules of Professional Conduct to the USPTO. The OED Director may,
after notice and opportunity for a hearing, suspend, exclude, or
disqualify any practitioner from further practice before the USPTO
based on non-compliance with the USPTO Rules of Professional
Conduct. Practitioners who have been excluded or suspended from
practice before the USPTO, practitioners transferred to disability
inactive status, and practitioners who have resigned must maintain
records of their compliance with the suspension or exclusion order,
transfer to disability inactive status, or resignation. These
records are necessary to demonstrate eligibility for reinstatement.
Reports of alleged violations of the USPTO Rules of Professional
Conduct are used by the Director of OED to conduct investigations
and disciplinary hearings, as appropriate. This information
collection covers the various reporting and recordkeeping
requirements set forth in Part 11 for practitioners representing
applicants and other parties before the USPTO. Also covered are
petitions for reinstatement for suspended or excluded practitioners
and the means for reporting violations or complaints of misconduct
to the USPTO.
US Code:
35 USC 2; 32-33 Name of Law: Leahy Smith America Invents
Act
Change in Responses and Hourly
Burden due to Adjustment in Agency Estimate The total number of
responses has increased by 39,221 due to estimated fluctuations in
the number of respondents/submissions in this information
collection. This change in the number of respondents and responses
results in a corresponding increase of 43,995 hours in the annual
time burden estimates. Changes in Annual Non-hour Costs due to
Adjustment in Agency Estimate For this renewal, the USPTO estimates
that the total annual non-hour costs will decrease by $3,610 from
the previous approval. This decrease is due to a decline in the
number of submissions that require a fee.
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.
Form PTO-107R Petition for Reinstatement under the provisions section 11.60(c)
0651-0017 Supporting Statement 2025_final (1).docx
USPTO Information Quality Guidelines.pdf
Petition for Reinstatement under the provisions section 11.60(c)