If you were unable to join us in person at IPWatchdog Studios for PTAB Masters™ 2024, a part of the IPWatchdog Masters™ series, register now to watch the broadcast of the Ethics and IPR: Staying Out of Trouble at the PTAB panel. This panel was recorded on January 30, 2024.

Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 2(b)(2)(D), the USPTO is authorized to establish rules and regulations that “govern the recognition and conduct of agents, attorneys, or other persons representing applicants or other parties before the Office.” The Patent Statute further gives to the Director the authority, after notice and opportunity for a hearing, to suspend or exclude from further practice before the Office, any person, agent, or attorney shown to be incompetent or disreputable, or guilty of gross misconduct, or who does not comply with the ethics rules adopted by the Office in 37 C.F.R. 11.101 et seq., which were adopted by the USPTO in 2013 to mirror the ABA Rules.

This panel will discuss ethics rules and rules of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that relate to representing parties before the USPTO, obligations of candor toward the USPTO, proper decorum when dealing with the Office, sanctions the PTAB can levy in the case of various improper actions by counsel, and ethics investigations by the Office of Enrollment & Discipline. Among other things, the panel will discuss:

(1) VLSI, OpenSky and Sanctions for Abuse
(2) Civility and Decorum
(3) The failure to disclose information to the PTAB vs. Misleading the PTAB
(4) Using AI without checking for accuracy and veracity

Materials

Vidal Awards VLSI Attorney Fees for OpenSky Abuse

What Vidal’s Sua Sponte Director Review of Unprecedented PTAB Sanctions Order Could Mean for PTAB Practice

Vidal Wants Input on Proper Sanctions for Withholding Evidence from PTAB

Ethics & IPR: Staying out of trouble at the PTAB