37 CFR 11.58 — Representation of Others Before the United States Patent and Trademark Office
Current through: 2024-07-01

Duties of disciplined practitioner or practitioner in disability inactive status.

§ 11.58 Duties of disciplined practitioner or practitioner in disability inactive status. (a) Compliance requirements. An excluded or suspended practitioner will not be automatically reinstated at the end of his or her period of exclusion or suspension. Unless otherwise ordered by the USPTO Director, an excluded or suspended practitioner must comply with the provisions of this section and § 11.60 to be reinstated. A practitioner transferred to disability inactive status must comply with the provisions of this section and § 11.29 to be reinstated unless otherwise ordered by the USPTO Director. Failure to comply with the provisions of this section may constitute grounds for denying reinstatement and cause for further action. (b) Practice prohibitions. Any excluded or suspended practitioner, or practitioner transferred to disability inactive status, shall: (1) Not engage in practice before the Office in patent, trademark, or other non-patent matters; (2) Not advertise or otherwise hold himself or herself out as authorized or able to practice before the Office; and (3) Take all necessary steps to remove any advertisements or other representations that would reasonably suggest that the practitioner is authorized or able to practice before the Office. (c) Thirty-day requirements. Within 30 days after the date of the order of exclusion, suspension, or transfer to disability inactive status, an excluded or suspended practitioner, or practitioner transferred to disability inactive status, shall: (1) Withdraw from representation in all matters pending before the Office; (2) Provide written notice of the order of exclusion, suspension, or transfer to disability inactive status to all State and Federal jurisdictions and administrative agencies to which the practitioner is admitted to practice; (3) Provide to all clients having immediate or prospective business before the Office in patent, trademark, or other non-patent matters: (i) Written notice of the order of exclusion, suspension, or transfer to disability inactive status, that calls attention to the practitioner's lack of authority to act as a practitioner after the effective date of the order; specifies any urgent dates for the client's matters; and advises the client to act promptly to seek legal advice elsewhere if the client is not already represented by another practitioner; (ii) Any papers or other property to which the clients are entitled, or schedule a suitable time and place where the papers and other property may be obtained, and call attention to any urgency for obtaining the papers or other property; and (iii) Any unearned fees for practice before the Office and any advanced costs not expended; (4) Provide written notice of the order of exclusion, suspension, or transfer to disability inactive status to all opposing parties in matters pending before the Office and provide in the notice a mailing address for each client of the practitioner who is a party in the pending matter; and (5) Serve all notices required by paragraphs (c)(2), (c)(3), and (c)(4) of this section by certified mail, return receipt requested, unless the intended recipient is located outside the United States. Where the intended recipient is located outside the United States, all notices shall be sent by a delivery service that provides the ability to confirm delivery or attempted delivery. (d) Forty-five-day requirements. Within 45 days after the date of the order of exclusion, suspension, or transfer to disability inactive status, an excluded or suspended practitioner, or practitioner transferred to disability inactive status, shall file with the OED Director an affidavit of compliance certifying that the practitioner has fully complied with the provisions of the order, with this section, and with § 11.116 for withdrawal from representation. Appended to the affidavit of compliance shall be: (1) A copy of each form of notice; the names and addresses of the clients, practitioners, courts, and agencies to which notices were sent; and all return receipts or returned mail received up to the date of the affidavit. Supplemental affidavits shall be filed covering subsequent return receipts and returned mail. Such names and addresses of clients shall remain confidential unless otherwise ordered by the USPTO Director; (2) A schedule showing the location, title, and account number of every account in which the practitioner holds, or held as of the entry date of the order, any client, trust, or fiduciary funds for practice before the Office; (3) A schedule describing, and evidence showing, the practitioner's disposition of all client and fiduciary funds for practice before the Office in the practitioner's possession, custody, or control as of the date of the order or thereafter; (4) A list of all State, Federal, and administrative jurisdictions to which the practitioner is admitted to practice; and (5) A description of the steps taken to remove any advertisements or other representations that would reasonably suggest that the practitioner is authorized to practice patent, trademark, or other non-patent law before the Office. (e) Requirement to update correspondence address. An excluded or suspended practitioner, or a practitioner transferred to disability inactive status, shall continue to file a statement in accordance with § 11.11 regarding any change of residence or other address to which communications may thereafter be directed. (f) Limited recognition for winding up practice. Unless otherwise provided by an order of the USPTO Director, an excluded or suspended practitioner, or practitioner transferred to disability inactive status, shall not engage in any practice before the Office. The USPTO Director may grant such a practitioner limited recognition for a period of no more than 30 days to conclude work on behalf of a client on any matters pending before the Office. If such work cannot be concluded, the practitioner shall so advise the client so that the client may make other arrangements. (g) Required records. An excluded or suspended practitioner, or practitioner transferred to disability inactive status, shall retain copies of all notices sent and maintain records of the various steps taken under this section. The practitioner shall provide proof of compliance as a condition precedent to the granting of any petition for reinstatement. (h) Aiding another practitioner while suspended or excluded; acting as a paralegal. An excluded or suspended practitioner, or practitioner in disability inactive status, may act as a paralegal for a supervising practitioner or perform other services for the supervising practitioner that are normally performed by laypersons, provided: (1) The practitioner is under the direct supervision of the supervising practitioner; (2) The practitioner is a salaried employee of: (i) The supervising practitioner, (ii) The supervising practitioner's law firm, or (iii) A client-employer who employs the supervising practitioner as a salaried employee; (3) The supervising practitioner assumes full professional responsibility to any client and the Office for any work performed by the practitioner for the supervising practitioner; and (4) The practitioner does not: (i) Communicate directly in writing, orally, or otherwise with a client, or prospective client, of the supervising practitioner in regard to any immediate or prospective business before the Office; (ii) Render any legal advice or any legal services in regard to any immediate or prospective business before the Office; or (iii) Meet in person with, regardless of the presence of the supervising practitioner: (A) Any Office employee in connection with the prosecution of any patent, trademark, or other matter before the Office; (B) Any client, or prospective client, of the supervising practitioner, the supervising practitioner's law firm, or the client-employer of the supervising practitioner regarding immediate or prospective business before the Office; or (C) Any witness or potential witness whom the supervising practitioner, the supervising practitioner's law firm, or the supervising practitioner's client-employer may, or intends to, call as a witness in any proceeding before the Office. The term “witness” includes individuals who will testify orally in a proceeding before, or sign an affidavit or any other document to be filed in, the Office. (i) Reinstatement after aiding another practitioner while suspended or excluded. When an excluded or suspended practitioner, or practitioner transferred to disability inactive status, acts as a paralegal or performs services under paragraph (h) of this section, the practitioner shall not thereafter be reinstated to practice before the Office unless: (1) The practitioner has filed with the OED Director an affidavit that: (i) Explains in detail the precise nature of all paralegal or other services performed by the practitioner, and (ii) Shows by clear and convincing evidence that the practitioner has complied with the provisions of this section and all USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct; and (2) The supervising practitioner has filed with the OED Director a written statement that: (i) States that the supervising practitioner has read the affidavit required by paragraph (i)(1) of this section and that the supervising practitioner believes every statement in the affidavit to be true, and (ii) States that the supervising practitioner believes that the excluded or suspended practitioner, or practitioner transferred to disability inactive status, has complied with paragraph (h) of this section. [86 FR 28464, May 26, 2021]