United States Patent and Trademark Office OG Notices: 16 March 2004
United States Patent and Trademark Office
37 CFR Part 11
[Docket No.: 2002-C-005]
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: Notice of extension of comment period.
SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office
(Office or USPTO) is extending the public comment period on proposed
rules, USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct, published in the Federal
Register on December 12, 2003 (68 FR 69442). This will allow additional
time following publication on December 12, 2003, for public comments,
including whether the Rules of Professional Conduct should include the
revisions to the Model Rules as amended by the American Bar Association
at the end of its February 2002 Midyear Meeting, also known as the
Ethics 2000 revisions.
DATES: You must submit your comments by Monday, April
12, 2004. The Office may not necessarily consider or include in the
Administrative Record for the proposed rule comments that the Office
receives after the close of this extended comment period or comments
delivered to an address other than those listed below.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent by electronic mail over the Internet
addressed to: ethicsrules.comments@uspto.gov. Comments may also be
submitted by mail addressed to: Mail Stop OED-Ethics Rules, United
States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, Virginia
22313-1450 or by facsimile to (703) 306-4134, marked to the attention
of Harry I. Moatz. Although comments may be submitted by mail or
facsimile, the Office prefers to receive comments via the Internet. If
comments are submitted by mail, the Office would prefer that the
comments be submitted on a DOS formatted 3 1/2 inch disk accompanied by
a paper copy. The comments will be available for public inspection at
the Office of Enrollment and Discipline, located in Room 1103, Crystal
Plaza 6, 2221 South Clark Street, Arlington, Virginia, and will be
available through anonymous file transfer protocol (ftp) via the
Internet (address: http://www.uspto.gov). Since comments
will be made available for public inspection, information that is not
desired to be made public should not be included in the comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Harry I. Moatz ((703)
305-9145), Director of Enrollment and Discipline (OED Director),
directly by phone, or by facsimile to (703) 305-4136, 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 USPTO published the
proposed rules on December 12, 2003 (68 FR 69442) and provided a 60-day
comment period that will end on February 10, 2004. We are extending the
comment period on proposed rules 11.100 through 11.900 in subpart D
until April 12, 2004, to allow the public additional time to provide us
with their comments.
The Office seeks comments regarding proposed rules 11.100 through
11.900 in subpart D, in part, because the proposed rules do not
contemplate inclusion of the Ethics 2000 revisions to the Model Rules
of Professional Conduct. The Ethics 2000 revisions have not been widely
adopted by state bars. Proposed rules 11.100 through 11.900, in large
part, are based on the widely adopted Model Rules of Professional
Conduct. The extended comment period provides the public an opportunity
to address proposed rules 11.100 through 11.900, and whether the Ethics
2000 revisions should be included in the rules adopted by the Office.
January 22, 2004 JON W. DUDAS
Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for
Intellectual Property and
Acting Director of the
United States Patent and Trademark Office