[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 197 (Thursday, October 9, 2008)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 59513-59514]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-23908]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
37 CFR Part 10
[Docket No. PTO-C-2005-0013]
RIN 0651-AB55
Changes to Representation of Others Before the United States
Patent and Trademark Office
AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule; correction.
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SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office)
published a final rule in the Federal Register on August 14, 2008,
adopting new rules governing the conduct of disciplinary
investigations, issuing warnings when closing such investigations,
disciplinary proceedings, non-disciplinary transfer to disability
inactive status and reinstatement to practice before the Office. This
document corrects omissions in that final rule and amends the Rules of
Practice for consistency with the final rule.
DATES: Effective Date: October 9, 2008.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Harry I. Moatz, Director of Enrollment
and Discipline (OED Director), directly by telephone (571) 272-6069, by
facsimile to (571) 273-6069 marked to the attention of Mr. Moatz, or by
mail addressed to: Mail Stop OED--Ethics Rules, U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office published a final rule in the
Federal Register of August 14, 2008 (73 FR 47650), entitled ``Changes
to Representation of Others Before the United States Patent and
Trademark Office.'' In that final rule, 37 CFR 10.4 is replaced and
supplemented by Sec. 11.23. Also in that final rule, there are several
references to ``violation of any of the Mandatory Disciplinary Rules
identified in Sec. 10.20(b) of this subchapter.'' This document
corrects erroneous omissions from that final rule as discussed below.
Section 10.4 inadvertently continued to remain in Part 10 although
it should have been removed and reserved. Seven of the examples of
conduct that constitute a violation of Mandatory Disciplinary Rule
Sec. 10.23--i.e., Sec. Sec. 10.23(c)(5), (c)(6), (c)(13), (c)(14),
(c)(15), (c)(16) and (c)(19)--and Mandatory Disciplinary Rule Sec.
10.31(c) inadvertently continue to refer to rules in Part 10 although
the referenced rules have been removed. They should refer to existing
rules. This document corrects the text in the provisions of Sec. Sec.
10.23 and 10.31 to reference the appropriate existing rules.
The final rule is corrected as follows. Section 10.4 is removed and
reserved (the substance of Sec. 10.4 has been transferred and
supplanted by Sec. 11.23). Section 10.23(c)(5) changes its reference
from ``Sec. 10.6(c)'' to ``Sec. 11.6(c)'' (the substance of the
former Sec. 10.6(c) was transferred to Sec. 11.6(c)). Section
10.23(c)(6) changes its reference from ``Sec. 10.158'' to ``Sec.
11.58'' (the substance of the former Sec. 10.158 was transferred to
Sec. 11.58). Section 10.23(c)(13) changes its
[[Page 59514]]
reference from ``Sec. 10.10(b)'' to ``Sec. 11.10(b)'' (the substance
of the former Sec. 10.10(b) was transferred to Sec. 11.10(b)).
Section 10.23(c)(14) changes its reference from ``Sec. 10.6'' to
``Sec. 11.6'' (the substance of the former Sec. 10.6 was transferred
to Sec. 11.6). Section 10.23(c)(15) changes its reference from
``10.18'' to ``11.18'' (the substance of the former 10.18 was
transferred to 11.18). Section 10.23(c)(16) changes its reference from
``paragraph (b) of Sec. 10.131'' to ``Sec. 11.22(b)'' (the substance
of the former Sec. 10.131(b) was included in Sec. 11.22(b)). Section
10.23(c)(19) changes its reference from ``Sec. 10.10(c)'' to ``Sec.
11.10(d)'' (the substance of the former Sec. 10.10(c) was transferred
to Sec. 11.10(d)). Section 10.31(c) changes its reference from ``Sec.
10.14(b)'' to ``Sec. 11.14(b)'' (the substance of the former Sec.
10.14(b) was transferred to Sec. 11.14(b)).
Section 553(d) of the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C.
553(d)) ordinarily requires a 30-day delay in the effective date of
final rules after the date of their publication in the Federal
Register. This 30-day delay in effective date can be waived, however,
if an agency finds for good cause that the delay is impracticable,
unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest. The change to 37 CFR
10.4 corrects a technical error inasmuch as the substance of Sec. 10.4
was transferred to and supplemented by Sec. 11.23. The changes in 37
CFR 10.23(c)(5), (c)(6), (c)(13), (c)(14), (c)(15), (c)(16) and (c)(19)
and 10.31(c) correct a technical error in referencing sections. The
changes in 37 CFR 10.23(c)(5), (c)(6), (c)(13), (c)(14), (c)(15),
(c)(16) and (c)(19) and 10.31(c) do not change the conduct expected of
practitioners from the final rule published on August 14, 2008, but
merely correct the language consistent with the existing and intended
text. The Office finds it impracticable to have a 30-day delayed
effective date for these technical corrections as practitioners should
not be misled or confused by rules referring to removed provisions of
Part 10, and practitioners should not be expected to abide by rules
that have been removed from Part 10. Furthermore, the Office finds that
it is in the public's interest to correct the changes in text to avoid
misleading constructions of the rules. Therefore, the Office is waiving
the 30-day delay in effective date for the technical corrections in
this notice.
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Accordingly, the Patent and Trademark Office makes the following
correcting amendments to 37 CFR part 10:
PART 10--REPRESENTATION OF OTHERS BEFORE THE PATENT AND TRADEMARK
OFFICE
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1. The authority citation for 37 CFR part 10 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 500; 15 U.S.C. 1123; 35 U.S.C. 2, 6, 32, 41.
Sec. 10.4 [Removed and reserved]
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2. Section 10.4 is removed and reserved.
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3. Section 10.23 is amended by revising paragraphs (c)(5), (c)(6),
(c)(13), (c)(14), (c)(15), (c)(16) and (c)(19) to read as follows:
Sec. 10.23 Misconduct.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(5) Suspension or disbarment from practice as an attorney or agent
on ethical grounds by any duly constituted authority of a State or the
United States or, in the case of a practitioner who resides in a
foreign country or is registered under Sec. 11.6(c), by any duly
constituted authority of:
(i) A State,
(ii) The United States, or
(iii) The country in which the practitioner resides.
(6) Knowingly aiding or abetting a practitioner suspended or
excluded from practice before the Office in engaging in unauthorized
practice before the Office under Sec. 11.58.
* * * * *
(13) Knowingly preparing or prosecuting or providing assistance in
the preparation or prosecution of a patent application in violation of
an undertaking signed under Sec. 11.10(b).
(14) Knowingly failing to advise the Director in writing of any
change which would preclude continued registration under Sec. 11.6.
(15) Signing a paper filed in the Office in violation of the
provisions of Sec. 11.18 or making a scandalous or indecent statement
in a paper filed in the Office.
(16) Willfully refusing to reveal or report knowledge or evidence
to the Director contrary to Sec. 10.24 or Sec. 11.22(b).
* * * * *
(19) Action by an employee of the Office contrary to the provisions
set forth in Sec. 11.10(d).
* * * * *
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4. Section 10.31 is amended by revising paragraph (c) to read as
follows:
Sec. 10.31 Communications concerning a practitioner's services.
* * * * *
(c) Unless authorized under Sec. 11.14(b), a non-lawyer
practitioner shall not hold himself or herself out as authorized to
practice before the Office in trademark cases.
* * * * *
Dated: October 1, 2008.
Jon W. Dudas,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. E8-23908 Filed 10-8-08; 8:45 am]
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