USPTO Announces Roundtable and Seeks Comments Concerning Privileged Communications Between Patent Applicants and Advisors | Practical Law

USPTO Announces Roundtable and Seeks Comments Concerning Privileged Communications Between Patent Applicants and Advisors | Practical Law

The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will host a roundtable to seek input on issues concerning privileged communications between patent applicants and their advisors. The USPTO is also seeking written comments from interested parties.

USPTO Announces Roundtable and Seeks Comments Concerning Privileged Communications Between Patent Applicants and Advisors

by Practical Law Intellectual Property & Technology
Published on 23 Jan 2015 • USA (National/Federal)
The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will host a roundtable to seek input on issues concerning privileged communications between patent applicants and their advisors. The USPTO is also seeking written comments from interested parties.
On January 23, 2015, the USPTO issued a notice announcing that it will host a roundtable on February 18, 2015 to seek input on issues concerning privileged communications between patent applicants and their advisors (80 FR 3953-02). The USPTO also stated that it is seeking written comments on the topic.
Specifically, the USPTO is seeking feedback that addresses the following issues:
  • The state of the law on protecting communications between patent applicants and their non-US patent practitioners from disclosure in US litigation.
  • How foreign courts treat communications between US patent practitioners and their clients.
  • The extent and nature of protection that US courts provide for communications between non-attorney US patent agents and their clients.
The roundtable will be available via webcast. Instructions for accessing the webcast will be available on the USPTO's website before the webcast. Written comments may be submitted by email at [email protected] or via the Federal Register's website by February 25, 2015.