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Professional Responsibility and Practice before the USPTO and Overview of USPTO Patent\PTAB Pro Bono Programs

Original Air Date 4.12.23
This course has expired and is no-longer eligible for CLE.

The Office of Enrollment and Discipline (OED) of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is responsible for registering attorneys and agents to practice before the USPTO, developing and administering the registration examination, investigating allegations of misconduct, and overseeing the USPTO Law School Clinic Certification and Patent Pro Bono programs. This webinar will provide an overview of core aspects of OED’s disciplinary enforcement functions, including an overview of various OED programs and initiatives that are relevant to legal ethics and practice before the USPTO and a discussion of select regulations governing the USPTO’s disciplinary process and statistics regarding recent disciplinary orders. A discussion of case law relevant to practice before the USPTO in patent and trademark matters with an emphasis on USPTO disciplinary decisions will also be discussed.

The USPTO will also present information on both the Patent Pro Bono Program and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) Pro Bono Program. Staff from OED and PTAB will provide a brief overview of the Programs including their establishment and implementation. The presentation highlights the benefits of participation and the positive impacts each program has had on under-resourced independent inventors and small businesses, volunteer patent practitioners, and the USPTO.


Presented by: Timothy Rooney, USPTO-OED, Brandy Zukanovich, USPTO-PTAB, and Olivia Scheuer, USPTO-OED

AIPLA is an approved provider by most jurisdictions requiring CLE. Each program requires individual jurisdiction approval, and each jurisdiction has different approval guidelines and time frames so programs may not be pre-approved for CLE. Program accreditation is sought in all attendee requested jurisdictions and may be available for up to one year after the original air date. Specialized credits (Ethics, Elimination of Bias, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Technology, etc.) approval varies by jurisdiction. CLE reporting and/or certificates of attendance may take up to 4 weeks for processing.

For information on CLE accreditation and processing, please contact the AIPLA CLE Department at cle@aipla.org.