Source: http://openjurist.org/445/f3d/747
Timestamp: 2013-12-05 05:47:36
Document Index: 145310935

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 10', '§ 10', '§ 10', '§ 10', '§ 10', '§ 10', '§ 10']

445 F3d 747 Goldstein v. I Moatz E Uspto | OpenJurist
445 F. 3d 747 - Goldstein v. I Moatz E Uspto	Home445 f3d 747 goldstein v. i moatz e uspto
445 F3d 747 Goldstein v. I Moatz E Uspto 445 F.3d 747
Richard W. GOLDSTEIN, Plaintiff-Appellant,v.Harry I. MOATZ, Director, Office of Enrollment and Discipline; Nicholas Godici, Defendants-Appellees, andLawrence Anderson; James E. Rogan, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of USPTO; James A. Toupin; David M. Purol, USPTO, Patent Examiner; United States of America; John Does, 1-5, Defendants.Richard W. Goldstein, Plaintiff-Appellant,v.Harry I. Moatz, Director, Office of Enrollment and Discipline; Nicholas Godici, Defendants-Appellees, andLawrence Anderson; James E. Rogan, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of USPTO; James A. Toupin; David M. Purol, USPTO, Patent Examiner; United States of America; John Does, 1-5, Defendants.American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, Incorporated, Amicus Supporting Appellant.
No. 05-1144.
No. 05-1399.
Decided April 20, 2006.
ARGUED: Victor Michael Glasberg, Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellant. Steven E. Gordon, Assistant United States Attorney, Office of the United States Attorney, Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellees. ON BRIEF: Paul Gowder, Victor M. Glasberg & Associates, Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellant. Paul J. McNulty, United States Attorney, Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellees. Rebecca K. Glenberg, American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia Foundation, Inc., Richmond, Virginia, for Amicus Supporting Appellant.
Affirmed in part and dismissed in part by published opinion. Judge KING wrote the opinion, in which Judge WILLIAMS and Judge MOTZ joined.
Appellant Richard W. Goldstein, a patent lawyer, appeals the district court's dismissal, on mootness grounds, of his civil action against certain officials in the Patent and Trademark Office (the "PTO"), and the PTO's Office of Enrollment and Discipline (the "OED"). He also appeals the court's denial of his application, under the Equal Access to Justice Act (the "EAJA"), for an award of attorneys' fees and costs. As explained below, we dismiss Goldstein's appeal of the mootness order as moot and affirm the district court's denial of his attorneys' fees and costs application.
The relevant factual background of this dispute is more fully detailed in our earlier decision in this matter. See Goldstein v. Moatz, 364 F.3d 205, 207-10 (4th Cir.2004). This proceeding involves the OED's investigation of Goldstein, which was apparently undertaken after complaints were received from some of his clients. Pursuant to the PTO's regulations, its OED Director is responsible for investigating allegations of misconduct by practitioners in the patent bar. See 37 C.F.R. § 10.131(a). When the Director conducts a disciplinary investigation, a practitioner is required to report and reveal to the Director any unprivileged knowledge of disciplinary rule violations. Id. §§ 10.24(a), 10.131(b). If, after investigation, the Director believes that a disciplinary violation has occurred, he is obliged to convene the PTO's Committee on Discipline (the "Committee"). Id. § 10.132(a). The Committee is composed of at least three PTO staff attorneys appointed by the Commissioner for Patents, id. § 10.4(a), and it is vested with the power and authority to decide the issue of probable cause on whether a disciplinary rule has been violated, id. § 10.4(b). If the Committee makes a probable cause finding, the Director initiates a formal disciplinary proceeding by the filing of a complaint against the practitioner and by referring the matter to an administrative law judge. Id. § 10.132(b), (c). Such a disciplinary proceeding may result in the issuance of a reprimand, or the suspension or expulsion of the practitioner from the patent bar (or, presumably, the complaint's dismissal). See id. § 10.132(b).
Between December 5, 2000, and November 20, 2001, the OED served Goldstein with a total of six Requirements for Information ("RFIs"), concerning four of his clients.1 The OED advised Goldstein in each instance that his failure to comply with the RFIs would constitute a violation of the PTO's disciplinary rules requiring compliance with OED investigations. In all, the six RFIs required Goldstein to respond to more than 300 inquiries.