Reexamination – Third Party Requester Power of Attorney or Revocation of Power of Attorney with a New Power of Attorney and Change of Correspondence Address
Reexamination – Third Party Requester Power of Attorney or Revocation of Power of Attorney with a New Power of Attorney and Change of Correspondence Address
This information collection includes the information necessary to submit a request to grant or revoke power of attorney for an application, patent, or reexamination proceeding, and for a registered practitioner to withdraw as attorney or agent of record. This also includes the information necessary to change the correspondence address for an application, patent, or reexamination proceeding, to request a Customer Number and manage the correspondence address and list of practitioners associated with a Customer Number, and to designate or change the correspondence address or fee address for one or more patents or applications by using a Customer Number.
Under 35 U.S.C. 2 and 37 CFR 1.31-1.32, power of attorney may be granted to one or more joint inventors or a person who is registered to practice before the USPTO to act in an application or a patent. In particular, for an application filed before September 16, 2012, or for a patent which issued from an application filed before September 16, 2012, power of attorney may be granted by the applicant for patent (as set forth in 37 CFR 1.41(b) (pre-AIA)) or the assignee of the entire interest of the applicant. For an application filed on or after September 16, 2012, or for a patent which issued from an application filed on or after September 16, 2012, power of attorney may be granted by the applicant for patent (as set forth in 37 CFR 1.42) or the patent owner. The USPTO provides two different versions of the most forms for establishing power of attorney based upon whether the application filing date was filed before or after September 16, 2012 or was filed on or after September 16, 2012. Providing forms based upon whether the application was filed before September 16, 2012 or was filed on or after September 16, 2012 reduces applicantsâ burden in having to determine the appropriate power of attorney requirements for a given application. , to thereby reduce applicantsâ burden in having to determine the appropriate power of attorney requirements for a given application.
37 CFR 1.36 provides for the revocation of a power of attorney at any stage in the proceedings of a case. 37 CFR 1.36 also provides a path by which a registered patent attorney or patent agent who has been given a power of attorney may withdraw as attorney or agent of record.
A Customer Number is a unique number created by the USPTO and is used instead of a physical address. The Customer Number allows a group of filings to be associated with a single correspondence mailing address. The USPTOâs Customer Number practice permits applicants, patent owners, assignees, and practitioners of record, or the representatives of record for a number of applications or patents, to change the correspondence address of a patent application or patent with one change request instead of filing separate requests for each patent or application. Any changes to the address or practitioner information associated with a Customer Number will be applied to all patents and applications associated with said Customer Number.
Changes of correspondence address or power of attorney may be filed separately for each patent or application without using a Customer Number. However, a valid Customer Number provides secure access to patent information through the registered USPTO.gov account using the USPTO patent electronic filing system (Patent Center), which is available through the USPTO website. Additionally, the use of a Customer Number is also required in order to grant power of attorney to more than ten practitioners or to establish a separate âfee addressâ for maintenance fee purposes that is different from the correspondence address for a patent or application.
In RIN 0651-AD85 (Required Use by Foreign Applicants and Patent Owners of a Patent Practitioner (91 FR 13510)), the USPTO is amending the Rules of Practice in Patent Cases to require patent applicants and patent owners whose domicile is not located within the United States (U.S.) or its territories to be represented by a registered patent practitioner. A requirement that foreign applicants/inventors and patent owners be represented by a registered patent practitioner will bring the U.S. in line with most other countries that require that such parties be represented by a licensed or registered person of that country. Additionally, this requirement will increase efficiency and enable the USPTO to more effectively use available mechanisms to enforce compliance by all foreign applicants/inventors and patent owners with U.S. statutory and regulatory requirements in patent matters, and enhance the USPTOâs ability to respond to false certifications, misrepresentations, and fraud.
In support of RIN 0651-AD85, the USPTO is revising three IC lines in this information collection. There will be an increase in the total estimated respondents (+407) and burden hours (+202) to this information collection due to this action.
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.
Power of Attorney to Prosecute Applications Before the USPTO