Power of Attorney; Naming Representative

37 CFR 1.32  Power of attorney.

(a)

Definitions

.

(1)

Patent practitioner

means a

registered patent attorney or registered patent agent under §

11.6

. An attorney or agent registered under §

11.6(d)

may only act as

a practitioner in design patent applications or other design patent matters

or design patent proceedings.

*****

(c) A power of attorney may only name as representative:

(1) One or more joint inventors (§

1.45

);

(2) Those registered patent practitioners associated with a

Customer Number;

(3) Ten or fewer patent practitioners, stating the name and

registration number of each patent practitioner. Except as provided in

paragraph

(c)(1)

or

(c)(2)

of this section, the Office will not recognize

more than ten patent practitioners as being of record in an application or

patent. If a power of attorney names more than ten patent practitioners,

such power of attorney must be accompanied by a separate paper indicating

which ten patent practitioners named in the power of attorney are to be

recognized by the Office as being of record in the application or patent to

which the power of attorney is directed.

*****

I.

NAMING REPRESENTATIVE IN A POWER OF ATTORNEY

An applicant may give a power of attorney to one or more

patent practitioners or one or more joint inventors. A power of attorney to a joint

inventor will be recognized even though the one to whom it is given is not a registered

practitioner. See

37

CFR 1.31

and

37 CFR 1.32(c)(1)

.

Powers of attorney naming firms of attorneys or agents filed in patent

applications will not be recognized. Furthermore, a power of attorney that names more than

ten patent practitioners will only be entered if Customer Number practice is used or if

such power of attorney is accompanied by a separate paper indicating which ten patent

practitioners named in the power of attorney are to be recognized by the Office as being of

record in the application or patent to which the power of attorney is directed

. Furthermore, a power of attorney that names more than

ten patent practitioners will only be entered if Customer Number practice is used or if

such power of attorney is accompanied by a separate paper indicating which ten patent

practitioners named in the power of attorney are to be recognized by the Office as being of

record in the application or patent to which the power of attorney is directed. If a power

of attorney is not entered because more than ten patent practitioners were named, a copy of

the power of attorney should be refiled with the separate paper as set forth in

37 CFR

1.32(c)(3)

.

Powers of attorney naming joint inventors, one or more registered

individuals, or all registered practitioners associated with a Customer Number, may be

made. See

MPEP

§ 403

for Customer Number practice. Where a power of attorney is

given to ten or fewer patent practitioners,

37 CFR 1.32(c)(3)

requires the name and

registration number of each patent practitioner to be stated in the power of attorney. If

the name submitted on the power of attorney does not match the name associated with the

registration number provided in the Office of Enrollment and Discipline records for patent

practitioners, the person that the Office will recognize as being of record will be the

person associated with the registration number provided, because the Office enters the

registration number, not the name, when making the practitioner of record. Accordingly, if

the wrong registration number is provided, a new power of attorney will be required to

correct the error.

See

MPEP § 601.03(a)

for change of

correspondence address in applications filed on or after September 16, 2012; see

MPEP §

601.03(b)

for change of correspondence address in applications

filed before September 16, 2012. See

MPEP §§ 201.06(c)

,

402.02(a)

,

and

402.02(b)

for change in the power of attorney in continuation or

divisional applications filed under

37 CFR 1.53(b)

ed to

correct the error.

See

MPEP § 601.03(a)

for change of

correspondence address in applications filed on or after September 16, 2012; see

MPEP §

601.03(b)

for change of correspondence address in applications

filed before September 16, 2012. See

MPEP §§ 201.06(c)

,

402.02(a)

,

and

402.02(b)

for change in the power of attorney in continuation or

divisional applications filed under

37 CFR 1.53(b)

. See

MPEP §

403

for the addition and/or deletion of a practitioner from the

list of practitioners associated with a Customer Number. For a representative of a

requester of reexamination, see

MPEP § 2213

.

II.

REGISTERED PRACTITIONERS

Effective January 2, 2024, the USPTO created the design

patent practitioner bar for practicing before the Office in design patent matters.

Design patent practitioners are registered under

37 CFR

11.6(d)

and can only practice in design patent matters.

37 CFR

1.32(a)(1)

. In contrast, patent practitioners registered under

37 CFR

11.6(a)

-

(c)

can practice in all patent

matters, which includes design patent matters. See

MPEP §

1502.02

.

For a power of attorney to be valid, the attorney or agent

appointed must be registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in

accordance with

37 CFR

11.6

. The appointed attorney or agent must also be authorized to

act as a practitioner in the type of patent matter for which representation is sought.

In other words, design patent practitioners can only be listed on power of attorneys in

design patent matters. Additionally, a customer number which includes a design patent

practitioner can only be used in a power of attorney in design patent matters. See

MPEP §

403

, subsection I.

Note that under

37 CFR 11.6(c)

, certain foreigners

who are in good standing before the patent office of the country in which they reside

and practice may be registered as a patent agent to practice before the Office for the

limited purpose of presenting and prosecuting patent applications of applicants located

in such country

er of attorney in design patent matters. See

MPEP §

403

, subsection I.

Note that under

37 CFR 11.6(c)

, certain foreigners

who are in good standing before the patent office of the country in which they reside

and practice may be registered as a patent agent to practice before the Office for the

limited purpose of presenting and prosecuting patent applications of applicants located

in such country.

Any power of attorney given to a practitioner who has been suspended or

disbarred by the Office is ineffective, and does not authorize the person to practice

before the Office or to represent applicants or patentees in patent matters.

III.

INEFFECTIVE POWER OF ATTORNEY

When an application for patent is filed accompanied by a

power of attorney to a person who is neither registered to practice before the United

States Patent and Trademark Office for the type of application in which it is filed nor

named as the inventor or a joint inventor in the application, the correspondence address

of record will not be the address indicated on the ineffective power of attorney. The

Office of Patent Application Processing will select an official correspondence address

in accordance with

MPEP § 403.01

.

Form paragraph

4.09

may be used to notify applicant that the attorney or

agent is not registered.